Stop ATM Charges, Bank Customers Urge Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

The customers, who made the call in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria in Gwagwalada on Monday, described the maintenance and transaction fees as well as other charges levied by the banks on ATM transactions as “worrisome and fraudulent”.

They noted that customers’ withdrawals with the ATMs of other banks had been unattractive because of the continued charge of N65 for every transaction, while commercial banks in the FCT had re-programmed their ATM.

They said that the ATMs of most banks in the FCT dispensed only N10,000 per transaction, adding that customers were, therefore, forced to make many withdrawals to enable the banks to earn more through charges.

The customers moaned that if they had a cause to withdraw N100,000 or more through other banks’ ATMs, it meant they would be made to part with more cash under the guise of ATM charges.

Mr Godwin Onmonya, a Zenith Bank customer in Gwagwalada, said that the ATMs of virtually all the banks in the neighbourhood dispensed a maximum of N10,000 per transaction.

“If you want to make withdrawals, you will discover that only a few ATMs are dispensing and they only dispense N10,000 per transaction.

“Recently, I wanted to withdraw above N100,000 and I went to another bank, only to discover that its ATM was dispensing only N10,000 per transaction.

“I also discovered I was charged N65 for every transaction, as I had exceeded the mandatory three withdrawals limit; this is outrageous,” he said.

Mr Abraham Gado, another bank customer in Kwali Area Council, said that he often received alerts for charges like management, maintenance and commitment fees as well as other frivolous charges after ATM transactions.

(NAN)