A safety net is needed to protect deposits in business transaction accounts and to ensure fast refunds if banks fail after fiscal 2000, a cross section of bank customer representatives said Tuesday.

The five representatives were speaking before a hearing of the Financial System Council, which is exploring ways to cope with bank failures after March 2001.

The government is scheduled to stop guaranteeing full refunds on deposits at all bank accounts after that date and limit its protection to 10 million yen per depositor.