Reps frown at banks fraudulent charges, order CBN to suspend ATM charges

The House of Representatives has directed its committee on Banking and Currency to investigate the N65 being charged customers by bank for the Automated Transaction Machine (ATM).

The resolution followed a motion under Matters of Urgent Public Importance moved by Rep. Tijani Yusuf (PDP-Kogi), which was unanimously adopted by members through a voice vote.

Moving the motion, Yusuf expressed concern that banks across the country had been extorting N65 from customers from every bank transaction while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) failed to act.

He said that recently, banks in the UK were asked to pay customers monies collected from them in the name of bank charges.

He informed the House that many banks were charging customers for every withdrawal as against the CBN’s rule that the N65 should apply after the third withdrawal.

He argued that banks were “defrauding Nigerians through these illegal and indiscriminate charges”.

Yusuf said, “This is happening and the CBN, the regulator, is looking the other way, while customers are losing money. The N65 may look small, but when you multiply it by the millions of bank customers we have in this country, then, you will understand what they are losing to the banks.

“There are 80 million bank customers in Nigeria and about half of them use the ATM. The CBN must enforce its regulation.”

Also contributing on the matter, Mr. Israel Ajibola told the House that the aim of deploying the ATMs for ease of withdrawals had been defeated by the actions of some banks.

He cited a case of banks that programmed their ATMs not to dispense more than N10, 000.

“This means that for a customer who wants to withdraw N50, 000, for instance, he must withdraw N10, 000 in five places. He pays N65 in multiple charges, which is a clear breach of regulation,” Ajibola stated.

National Daily gathered that Nigerian banks charge N65 extra on other banks ATM different from the holders’ bank after each third transaction as well as other arbitrary charges placed on depositors.