BANKS in Singapore are standing by their policy of holding customersresponsible for transactions made on their lost or stolen cards if theydo not report the missing card in time.  Consumers who cry foul may have no leg to stand on, as the policy is stated in the fine print on the contract they have signed.

Acheck with seven banks and two credit card companies has found thatthose who hold Singapore-issued cards are liable for any unauthorizedtransaction made before the loss is reported.

Some, like DBS Bank and Citibank, will at most review cases individually.

One bank that did not want to be named told The Straits Times it wasunfair for banks to take the blame and shoulder the cost whencardholders themselves in most cases are careless or negligent. Theremay also be fraud involved.

So let me get this straight.   The consumer should take the blame because they are careless and negligent.  I wonder when banks will consider typing a "username and password" into a box on their online banking website "careless and negligent."  I wonder when banks will consider using a credit/debit card for an online purchase, by typing their card number into a box on a website "careless and negligent."