The Law of Banking and Payment in South Africa provides an explanation of some of the more important aspects of the law applicable to banks and banking in South Africa, along with the principles that govern payment and payment systems in this country.

The Law of Banking and Payment in South Africa covers the following areas: a general introduction to banks and banking law; the nature of banking law and its sources; the role and function of the Reserve Bank and the various statutes that regulate banks; the bank–customer relationship; miscellaneous banking services provided by banks; general principles of payment; the law applicable to various payment systems; unauthorised cheque payments and unauthorised electronic funds transfers; international sale transactions; and bank guarantees.

The aim of the authors is to provide a text that is both accessible for students and other persons seeking to gain a basic understanding of the subject, and comprehensive enough to be useful to lawyers, bankers and those who work in the field of banking and finance.

• Table of Cases
• Banks and banking law – WG Schulze
  • The role of banks in commerce
  • The South African banking sector
  • Different types of banks
• The nature of banking law and its sources – WG Schulze
  • The diversity of South African banking law
  • Fundamental phenomena in South African banking law
  • The sources of South African banking
• The South African banking system – Vivienne Lawack
  • The South African Reserve Bank
  • The statutory regulation of banks
  • Appendix: Regulators and legislation
• The bank–customer relationship – Avishkaar Ramdhin
  • The bank as a legal person
  • Who is the ‘customer’?
  • Classification of the bank–customer relationship
  • General elements of the bank–customer relationship
  • Sources of terms
  • Formation of the bank–customer relationship
  • Specific duties of the bank
  • General duties of the bank
  • Duties of the customer
  • Overdraft facilities
  • Reversal of credit entries
  • Payment from accounts
  • Set-off between bank accounts
  • Banker’s lien
  • Trust accounts
  • Termination of the bank–customer relationship
• Miscellaneous banking services – Avishkaar Ramdhin
  • Safe custody
  • Bankers’ references
  • Furnishing of financial advice
  • Travel services
  • Estate and trust planning
• Payment – Robert Sharrock
  • The nature of payment
  • The legal concept of money
  • The medium of payment
  • The amount of payment
  • The time and place of payment
  • Payment by post
  • Payment by and to a third person
  • Receipt for payment
  • The appropriation of payments
  • Guarantee of payment
  • Conditional payment
  • Payment ‘in full settlement’
  • Set-off
  • Frustration of payment
  • Mistaken payment
  • Payment obtained by theft or fraud
  • Proof of payment
• Payment systems – Melanie Roestoff
  • Paper-based transfers
  • Electronic funds transfers
  • Payment cards
• Unauthorised cheque payments and electronic funds transfers – Corlia van Heerden
  • Unauthorised cheque payments
  • Unauthorised electronic funds transfers
• Payment in and financing of international sale transactions – Charl Hugo
  • Payment in advance
  • Open account
  • Documentary collections
  • Documentary credits
• Bank guarantees – Charl Hugo
  • Different types of demand guarantees
  • The requirement of a complying demand