Nigerians accuse banks of illicit, excessive charges; demand reforms

Nigerians at home and abroad have taken to social media to lament their experiences at the hands of commercial banks, who they accuse of exploitation.

Their concerns range from excessive deduction of bank charges for card maintenance and electronic payments to double deductions of stipulated charges.

In a campaign that began on social media last Monday, many Nigerians called for reforms of the banks.

In 2017, the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced a N100 monthly maintenance fee for a naira dominated debit card in the country and also a N50 charge for other months whether the card is used or not.

The apex bank also introduced a N4, 200-per-annum charge on foreign currency denominated cards as maintenance fee and a N50 charge on every cheque leaflet obtained and used.

Earlier this year, the CBN said any bank that deducts monies illegally from a customer’s account for products and services would be forced to refund the money to the customer with interest. The directive was sequel to complaints by bank customers within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) over excess charges by banks through Automated Teller Machine (ATM) withdrawals and other electronic mediums.

But on Monday, a campaign tagged #Reform9jaBanks began on Twitter as a UK-based Nigerian medical doctor, Harvey Olufunmilayo, who started the campaign, lamented the state of banks in Nigeria in comparison with banks in foreign countries.

“I have lived in UK a few years now and NEVER has my bank ever charged me one penny for bank transfer. Never. Not (for) once!” the bank user stated.

Another Nigeria based in Qatar, Eniola @Henzyshso, stated that banks in Qatar do not charge customers for the use of ATM in any bank, while a university student, Uthman Samad, explained that the United Bank of Africa (UBA) removed double ATM card maintenance fee from his account for almost a year. According to him, the charges were being deducted “on a lost ATM card which he has deactivated and renewed a year ago.”