KINGSTON, Jamaica— The National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCBJ) says it has identified, and is addressing a technical issue affecting Uber transactions made by some customers using the Visa Debit cards.

The bank said the issue resulted in certain transactions not being charged to customers’ accounts, leading to unpaid balances and, in some cases, potential fraudulent activity or scams.

So far, over 300 accounts have been temporarily frozen for further investigation due to the unusual high volumes and types of Uber transactions, NCBJ said in a press release on Wednesday.

“During our review, we detected unusual activity patterns, including instances where some customers completed an exceptionally high number of Uber transactions—some exceeding 700 rides within a single month—indicating possible misuse or exploitation of the issue,” NCBJ said.

“As our investigation continues, we have communicated with Visa Debit customers regarding the funds owed and which will be processed for Uber transactions made. The bank has processed the owed balances where there are funds in the accounts or temporarily placed liens on accounts with insufficient funds until the outstanding amounts are recovered.  Accounts flagged for suspicious activity will be blocked pending further review,” the bank added.

NCBJ said that it is working with Visa to identify and resolve the underlying cause of the issue that resulted in customers not being charged for Uber rides.

“Approximately one per cent of our Visa Debit cardholders (over 8,000 accounts) have been impacted, with investigated transactions dating back to the period of May 2024. We understand the importance of maintaining transparency and are committed to updating our customers as new information becomes available,” NCBJ stated.

The bank said its priority now is to ensure that all impacted accounts are accurately reconciled.

Customers can contact NCBJ’s customer care centre at cem@jncb.com or 888-622-3477 for assistance or inquiries.

Many NCB customers took to social media on Wednesday complaining about deductions made from their accounts for Uber. Screenshots reflecting $0 balances and liens placed on accounts for hundreds of thousands of dollars were also shared on these platforms.