Editor’s Note: On the 1st of March 2016, a few Twitter influencers, led by @CafonNg, a Twiter handle that describes themselves as “consumer rights activists”, decided to raise awareness on the perceived overzealousness of the Nigerian commercial banks, in the quest for profit at the expense of their customers in the form of bank service charges, via the #nobankingday hashtag. It’s funny that they have only just begun to realize most of these charges, which surprisingly has been in existence for a long time now, and has also been well written out in the various account opening documentations which are duly signed and filled during the process of account opening.
Nnanna Ijezie, an Information Manager and Banker writes his opinion on why he thinks the #nobankingday and other complaints towards the Nigerian banking system are a bit over the top.

On the 1st of March 2016, a few Twitter influencers, led by @CafonNg, a Twiter handle that describes themselves as “consumer rights activists”, decided to raise awareness on the perceived overzealousness of the Nigerian commercial banks, in the quest for profit at the expense of their customers in the form of bank service charges, via the #nobankingday hashtag.

The aim of the movement was to boycott banking activities across all possible banking channels while tweeting their displeasures and the injustices which has been meted out to them, in hopes that relevant authorities and the banks they targeted would come to see the proverbial light and reduce the charges.

The hashtag peaked around midday, and most engaged Twitter users used the opportunity to lay complaints and post pictures of banks, with little or no activity being carried out at the time.

The state of the Nigerian economy, which many people feel is at this time very messed-up and embarrassing, partly due to the current administration not seeming to have an economic blueprint in place 10 months after inauguration, has caused everyone to be extremely conscious with their money. It’s funny that they have only just begun to realize most of these charges, which surprisingly has been in existence for a long time now, and has also been well written out in the various account opening documentations which are duly signed and filled during the process of account opening.

The commercial banks have always been in the business of making profit, servicing their massive recurrent expenditure bills and venturing into lucrative investments the only way available to them, which are these well documented charges for the services they offer. But lately, these complaints has made people believe the banking system is just being exploitative, even though the CBN has repeatedly assured Nigerians that they regulate bank policies to ensure there is no exploitation of customers.

Let us try and justify some of these claims, from the business point of view of the banks.

N4 SMS Charge

Banks send their transaction alert statements usually at the end of the month, and most people usually get bills from N100 to any amount, depending on the frequency of their transactions. The complainants have implored the banks to employ some of the popular bulk messaging platforms, to reduce the cost incurred by the banks, which in turn reduces the price of the charge; the only issue stopping the banks from employing these channels are the long term mutually beneficial contracts they had long ago entered into with the mobile operators, and the legal trouble of getting out of it which isn’t what any bank would want to bother with. Besides, it makes the bank seem untrustworthy, and that isn’t good for business.

N65 ATM Usage Charge

This policy was among one of the early policies reintroduced by the current CBN governor in 2014. It was introduced to increase liquidity in the financial system, and spur the banks into improving their various ATM facilities and networks. Customers are only charged after their third withdrawal in a month from the ATM machine belonging to another bank. This is pretty considerate, considering that back in then 2010 under Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the policy was to charge N100 per transaction, and most Nigerians who have been privileged to travel outside the country would bear witness to the fact that there is a different ATM usage charges foreign banks levy on all customers, either $1, $2, £2. Which would you rather prefer?

Charging Parallel Rates For Online Card Transactions

The dollar officially trades at N198, but on the parallel market, it fluctuates between N315 and N340 currently. As a result, small businesses and the economy have been negatively affected. People complain that the banks are being exploitative when they are charged the parallel rate of forex, since CBN supplies and sells forex to these banks at official rates. But that claim is a little bit far off from the truth. Current CBN provisions only makes forex available at official rates to offset bills such as school fees, medical bills and government-approved imports. This means that every other transaction we carry out in forex must be done using parallel rates. How does this affect your online transactions, seeing as banks trade using official rates? Well, when you make a card payment with your Naira card online, your card issuer (MasterCard, Visa) facilitates that transaction and credits the retailer immediately so your purchase can be approved. A bill is then sent to your bank, and as “card issuer repayments” isn’t among the approved forex transactions list, your bank has to source for the dollar to settle that bill from the alternative forex markets, before you are debited. We hope you keep that in mind when next you want to make a purchase with your card.

With these reasons in mind, it’s obvious that the Nigerian banking system will continue to make the customers feel like sacrificial lambs, as they have to eke out profit and hope just like the rest of us that the nation’s economic fortunes improve.

This article expresses the author’s opinion only. The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of 9jabuzz or its editors. Your own opinion articles, feedback, suggestions, complaints or compliments are welcome at 9jabuzzblog@gmail.com. You can also follow the writer on Facebook and on Twitter.

Source: http://9jabuzz.com.ng/opinion-why-i-think-the-nobankingday-is-a-bit-over-the-top/