§ 4-30. Who pays the loss when a card or account is misused

This section decides who bears the loss when someone has used the account or card without the customer's authorisation. The starting point in the first paragraph is that the bank is liable for the loss. A payment is only authorised when the payer has consented to it being carried out. Then come the exceptions, which make the customer fully or partly liable.

The second paragraph sets a low excess: The customer is liable for up to NOK 450 if the loss results from the instrument being lost, stolen or misappropriated. The customer also avoids the excess if he could not have detected the incident beforehand and has not acted fraudulently.

The third paragraph concerns gross negligence (a serious form of negligence). If the customer has in this way breached the obligations in § 4-23 first paragraph, to use the instrument in accordance with the terms and protect the security information, or the duty to give notice in § 4-24 first paragraph, he is liable for the entire loss. If the payment instrument was electronic, liability is nevertheless limited to NOK 12,000. The fourth paragraph concerns intent: If the customer deliberately breached the obligations and must have understood that the instrument could easily be misused, he is liable for the entire loss.

The fifth paragraph protects the customer in certain situations. The customer is not liable for losses caused by the bank itself or by anyone acting on the bank's behalf. Unless the customer has committed fraud, he is also not liable for losses after he has given notice, when the bank has not made arrangements for giving notice, and when the bank has not required strong customer authentication (an extra, secure identification).

Example: A card is stolen and used by the thief. The customer gives notice as soon as he discovers it. Liability is in principle the bank's. The customer may be required to pay an excess under the second paragraph, unless he could not have detected the theft beforehand. Losses that occur after he has given notice are covered by the bank in any case.

The section has several closely related provisions. Reduction of the customer's liability is regulated in § 4-31, and § 4-32 entitles the customer to have the bank refund the amount by the end of the next business day (virkedag) if the customer disputes liability and has given notice in time. Between banks, the loss can be claimed under § 4-33. The title of § 8-2 is "Transitional rules", and § 1-11 concerns the implementation of rules from the EEA (EØS).