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The legal relationship between a bank and a customer in Zimbabwe

The law in Zimbabwe treats the relationship between a bank and a customer as a contractual one. The reciprocal rights and duties included in the contract are to a great extent based upon custom and usage. see Blue Track Investments (Pvt) Ltd & Others v Nedbank Zimbabwe Ltd 2021 (1) ZLR 767 (S).

The general rule relating to deposits made in a bank account in Zimbabwe by a customer is that the money becomes the property of the bank, which can use such deposit as it pleases, so long as it pays to the depositor, on demand, the equivalent of the same amount deposited in the account. Therefore, the legal relationship between a bank and a customer in Zimbabwe is that of a debtor and creditor. see China Shougang International v Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe Ltd 2011 (2) ZLR 456 (H) and Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe Ltd v China Shougang International 2013 (2) ZLR 385 (S).