Banks are quick to woo customers with e-payment products but are allegedly reluctant to address associated complaints arising from using such products, reports indicate.

The Central Bank of Nigeria commenced migration to a cashless economy with a major aim of reducing the amount of naira notes used for transactions.

Different electronic payment options were introduced for Nigerians to adopt, while charges were introduced in some cash transactions to discourage cash option.

While this has helped the country to join progressive countries of the world using e-payment options, associated challenges have continued to subject many Nigerians to undue hardship.

It has been observed that banks are quick to market their electronic payment products to customers but reluctant to address complaints associated with them.

Complaining, a bank customer, Abigail Muneme, said, “I went to a shop to recharge my electricity bill. I used my debit card to pay through PoS and immediately, I got a debit alert of N5, 000 on my phone but the shop owner told me the transaction declined.

“I have called the bank several times to complain; sometimes they pick my calls and ask me further questions; sometimes the phone just keeps ringing with nobody to pick it. I have used almost N2, 000 credit card calling the bank. The last time I went to the bank to lodge my complaint, the queue was so long, I had to leave,” she said.

Numerous complaints emerge everyday as customers try to migrate to cashless transactions.

A mechanic in Lagos, Kunle Abolade, said, “I did not have a bank account before until most of my customers started telling me they did not have cash to pay me and would prefer to pay into my bank account.

“Because of that, I opened a bank account because I did not want to be using another person’s account to collect my payments. But most times, when I need to go and buy parts of vehicles to do my job urgently, I end up staying on long ATM queues which is frustrating. Some banks will have up to six ATM stands but only one will be working,” he added.

He said this made him to go to the PoS operators most times and they were always charging him extra amounts.

A teacher, Mr Adio Najeem, is worried that most ATMs have been programmed to not dispense more than N10,000 at a time because the banks want to make more money by charging the depositors for more withdrawals.

Banks reluctance to address complaints

E-payments should help to increase convenience, provide more service options, reduce risk of cash-related crimes, and provide cheaper access to (out-of-branch) banking services and access to credit.

Some of the available channels are PoS terminals, mobile payment systems, Internet banking, multi-functional ATM, electronic funds transfer systems, and direct debit.

A depositor, John Emeka, said he received a debit alert of N245, 500 which was not initiated by him. After complaining, he said his bank responded by sending an email which read, “We empathise with you on the fraudulent transactions on your account.

“We received your complaint wherein you stated that the total sum of N245,500 was withdrawn from your account using the mobile banking option to a Sportybet wallet on 28th of September, 2021.

“Your account was immediately restricted to prevent further debits. We immediately contacted sportybet to restrict the beneficiary’s account and we received feedback that the wallet has been deactivated however, funds has been fully utilised.

“We reviewed the disputed transaction and noted that the transactions were authenticated on all security levels of the mobile banking application (user ID, login password & PIN).

“Investigation revealed that your user profile was registered on a new mobile device on 28/09/2021 @ 2:59:44 PM with your card details and One-Time Pass code (OTP) sent to your email address/mobile phone.

“Afterward, default login credential was sent to your registered email. This was the same login details used to access your account which implies that your email was compromised.

“It is however important to state that our investigation did not reveal any internal compromise or wrongdoing on the part of the bank as your existing login credentials were used to authenticate the transactions hence the bank is absolved of all liabilities.

“We would encourage that this matter is also reported to the police for further investigation as the bank is willing to cooperate with the police in carrying out their investigation,” he said.

A pensioner, Dr Dapo Musa, said it was hard to believe that bank insiders were not connivance of the frauds.

He said, “From my own personal experience, I collected my ATM card on a Friday and did not activate it. By the time I left the bank and got home, I received almost 20 messages asking me for information on my accounts.

“I wondered that I just left the bank so why are they sending all those information to me. On Monday, I went to the bank and told them that I just collected my ATM card on Friday and I have not yet activated it and you are sending me almost 20 messages during the weekend.

“The bank staff asked me to show her the messages, when I did, she said I was lucky I did not respond because the messages were not from the bank and my response could have been used to hack my account.

“I wondered how those sending messages knew that I just left my bank and just collected my ATM card. After that, I destroyed the card and I have been using only cheque book for my transactions,” he added.

Bank customers often complain of several debit transactions not initiated by them, but banks would readily absolve themselves.

A depositor, Mr Taiwo Bankole is unhappy that his complaint has not been resolved.

He said, “On 27th of November 2021, my phone was jacked at a bus stop in Lagos and before I could have access to another phone to block the SIM linked to my accounts, the jacker made their ways into my bank account and made away with more than N250,000.

“On SIM recovery and activation, I got so many debit alerts to one Mr Williams who bought N10, 000 airtime on the SIM card; performed several USSD transactions and online transactions, up to the above mentioned amount.

“The effort to trace it to my bank was abortive as I was told it was a successful transaction from my phone to the beneficiary so there was nothing they could do to reverse it and that since my SIM has been recovered, no further transaction will go into my account from them (the thief) anymore so I decided to let go,” he added.

He said he expected the bank to help him trace the user but the bank was not responding to him anymore.

Lodging complaints

The CBN released a guide for bank customers and others on how and where they could lodge complaints against financial institutions regulated by it.

The financial institutions include commercial banks, microfinance banks, primary mortgage institutions, and discount houses.

The CBN noted that it had earlier issued a circular directing all banks to expand their existing ATM help desks to handle all types of consumer complaints.

“Therefore, if you have a complaint against your bank, you must first report the complaint at the bank/branch where the issue originated and then allow two weeks (it might be less or more in some cases) for the issues to be resolved,” it said.

According to the apex bank, the customer has the right to escalate the complaint to the Director, Consumer Protection Department of the CBN after lodging a complaint, when the bank fails to acknowledge within three days or issue a tracking number, or fails to resolve the complaint within the timelines as stipulated by the Consumer Protection Regulation.

The CBN said, “You can only direct your complaints to the CPD upon the failure of your bank/financial institution to resolve your complaint within the timeline stipulated by the Consumer Protection Regulation.

“You can contact the CPD through the following channels: Consumer Protection Department, Garki, Abuja. Your letter of complaint should be addressed to the Director, Consumer Protection Department. You can submit your letter at the CBN Head Office or at any of the CBN branches nationwide.”

Customers can direct their complaints to cpd@cbn.gov.ng according to the CBN.

Displeased depositors

Displeased customers, who lost huge funds, most times pursue their fights with the banks while others give up.

The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria in its latest annual report said that about 67 bank customers lodged complaints against banks over disagreements that amounted to N11.7bn in 2020.

The institute disclosed that its ethics and professional division was able to resolve 53 of the reported cases.

Part of the report read, “The ethics and professional division received a total of 67 petitions/cases with petitioners’ claims amounting to about N11.76bn. Fifty three cases were fully resolved with the total amount of N1.7bn refunded to the petitioners.”

A former President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, Dr. Sam Nzekwe, said, that a lot of people were using the e-payments but, it had not yet permeated well in the economy.

He said, “The banks have not shown the kind of confidence people are looking for to readily use the platforms. If banks display more confidence, more people will use the platforms because you are keeping money in banks to be free from armed robbers.

“But with the operations of the fraudsters, it is now even easier for the thieves to steal your money kept in the bank,” he added.

E-payment options

The CBN aims to establish a change in the country’s payment system using the cashless policy.

According to the CBN, e-payments will reduce the huge costs of providing banking services and the money saved will be used to lend credit to Nigerians.

It also aims to reduce the cost of banking services (including cost of credit) and drive financial inclusion by providing more efficient transaction options and greater reach, and also to improve the effectiveness of monetary policy in managing inflation and driving economic growth.

When asked to respond on banks’ nauseating attitude to customers’ complaints, the spokesperson, CBN, Mr Osita Nwanisobi, had yet to respond as of the time of filing this report.

(The PUNCH)

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