by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi<\/p>\n
It is unfortunate that in a matter of hours, the Central Bank of Nigeria,
\nCBN, would have made good its earlier notice of reintroducing charges on
\nATM withdrawals. Since over a fortnight ago (Wednesday 13th of August
\n2014) when the plan was made public, I had deliberately stayed my comment
\non it because I was hoping that the wide criticism that greeted the policy
\nwould make the apex bank reconsider its stance. I am disappointed that
\nthis is becoming another case of: let them have their say, while we have
\nour way.<\/p>\n
One may think the public outcry against the decision is not loud enough to
\nwarrant the back tracking of the apex bank on the matter. I don’t think
\nthat is true. If actually Nigerians werent vociferous enough in
\nrepudiating the policy, the central bank wouldnt have come up to defend
\nwhy the N65 charge had to be introduced just days after it announced the
\ndecision. But then, the justification it gave cannot survive the test of
\ncritical analyses. It equally flies in the face of common sense.<\/p>\n
Please, dont be misguided by my opening sentence. In as much as I
\nconsider it unfortunate that the policy looks set to take effect, I will
\ntry as much as possible to dispassionately stick with the issues. To boot,
\nlet me clarify my disappointment with the development. The use of ATM and
\nissues about it have come to be one that affects virtually every member of
\nthe already pauperized populace of Nigeria. Whatever goes on with it has a
\ndirect bearing on them.<\/p>\n
Mind you, my reference is to the same people who have surrendered the
\ncommonwealth of the country to the ruling class as well as the elites to
\nhelp themselves with as they please. They have admitted in good faith
\ntheir helplessness when it comes to deriving a good bargain from those in
\ncharge of the common till. Why then are they still being subjected to this
\nkind of policy that takes from their precious little and gives same to
\nthose who are already extremely rich? I’m taking about those who commute
\nin private jet!<\/p>\n
I expected those pushing for the new fee to come up with a better defence
\nthat would wear well with those who would suffer the brunt. This explains
\nmy disappointment with their second rhetoric. However, let us still
\ncommend them for coming up with a defence since it is typical for we
\nNigerians to appreciate inconsequential acts of modesty from our leaders.<\/p>\n
But while we acknowledge them, let us inform CBN that we are still lost as
\nto why it would reintroduce a policy which banks chief executives opted
\nto remove out of their own volition. For those who may have forgotten,
\ntime was when we used to forfeit the sum of N100.00 each time we conducted
\na “remote-on-us” ATM transaction. This held sway till as recent as
\nDecember 2012 when the CBN in collaboration with the Bankers Committee
\nabolished the N100 fee and transferred N65 out of that cost to the issuing
\nbanks.<\/p>\n
It is this N65, which was hitherto borne by commercial banks, that
\nEmefieles CBN has elected to lay on us from September 1, 2014. And so I
\nask: on whose side is this man and his team? To be sure, they have their
\nreasons for coming up with this. These reasons, they reckoned, are for the
\ngreater benefit of us all. Isnt that why they are called public
\nservants? Of course it is! They are public servants because all that
\nbother them is how to advance our common interest. As such, the new charge
\nis another service to our interest whether we believe it or not.<\/p>\n
In a bid to tamper whatever ill will the policy will generate, the bankers
\nbank, in the circular which contained the announcement asserted that the
\nnew charge shall apply as from the 4th remote-on-us\u00e2\u20ac withdrawal
\n(in a month) by card holder, thereby making the first three transactions
\nfree for the card holder, but to be paid by the issuing bank.\u00e2\u20ac Not yet
\ndone it unequivocally stated that, all ATM cash withdrawals on the ATM
\nissuing banks shall be at no cost to the card holder, but to be paid by
\nthe issuing bank.\u00e2\u20ac This simply upheld the standard that had been in
\nplace prior to December 2012.<\/p>\n
Now, to why we must endure parting with our hard-earned N65 every fourth
\ntime we withdraw cash from the ATM of another bank, CBN said the fee is to
\ncater for the remuneration of the switches, ATM monitoring and
\nfit-notes processing by acquiring banks.\u00e2\u20ac Too much jargon in that
\ndisclosure obfuscated communication from what CBN was saying. As a result,
\nthe people screamed blue murder; necessitating another reaction from the
\napex bank.<\/p>\n
The CBN clarified through the Director in charge of its Banking Payments
\nSystems Departments, Dipo Fatokun that owing to lack of charges, it
\nobserved that we have turned ATMs into our personal purses to the extent
\nthat we go to withdraw sums as low as N500, or N1000 making us frequent
\nthe ATM for up to four or ten times in a day. It noted that this our
\nattitude has created a huge cost burden for the banks that issue the cards
\nsuch that it is becoming discouraging to them.<\/p>\n
This, the CBN noted, led them to resolve that we “can go to an ATM other
\nthan your bank ATM to withdraw up to three times and no charges would be
\nimposed on you, but it is when you make the fourth withdrawal that you
\nwill pay the N65 that ordinarily your bank would have paid on your behalf.
\nBut of course, if you go to your banks ATM, the issuer, for withdrawal
\nyou can withdraw as many times as you like without being charged.”<\/p>\n
The apex bank ended by categorically stating that the new charge does not
\ndiscourage financial inclusion. But, I dare say that it does. Irrespective
\nof this education given by the CBN, a lot of people still mistakenly
\nbelieve that the N65 fee is taken each time they withdraw. To worsen the
\ncase, others still think that they would also be charged when they even
\nwithdraw from their bank’s ATM. With this fears, an average Nigerian would
\nnaturally opt to save his money else where that would be convenient for
\nhim to access it than somewhere which detracts from the little s\/he has.<\/p>\n
The N65 may be such a chicken feed for most people, but I have been told
\nof a Nigerian who refused to subscribe to the SMS alert on transactions
\nbecause he is not comfortable with losing the N5 alert fee each time a
\ntransaction is carried out on his bank account. The truth remains that
\nsome Nigerians are that thrifty or poor! That should make us better
\nappreciate how much the N65 fee wouldn’t discourage financial inclusion.<\/p>\n
Obviously, the CBN wants a situation where people would withdraw money in
\nbulk instead of visiting ATM galleries for paltry sums. But then, the rich
\nmen who withdraw large sums have no business utilising ATMs. May I ask,
\nwhen was the last time you saw Dangote joining the queue to withdraw cash
\nusing the ATM? Truth is that rich men who are no where near him in the
\nscale of wealth order bank managers to dispatch whatever sum they need to
\nwherever they want it and the manager does that pronto. You don’t see
\nthese people in the banking hall let alone in front of ATMs.<\/p>\n
I’m lost as to why the banks would complain about the N65 they are
\noffsetting for the remote-on-us transactions of their customers.
\nThis is because they make much more than that from same customers. And
\nagain the customers’ overwhelming reliance on ATM for their transactions
\nhave made banks cut down on their workforce. This has saved them the
\nexcess amount they would have been spending on the remuneration of
\nstaffers.<\/p>\n
At a time when mobile telecom companies operating in the country are
\ncharging uniform rates for on-net and off-net voice calls, I see no reason
\nwhy the status quo in the use of ATM can’t be maintained.<\/p>\n
The Central Bank of Nigeria under the able leadership of Godwin Emefiele
\nneed to know that its major responsibility is to protect Nigerians from
\nthe exploitative tendencies of commercial banks. It becomes a disservice
\nwhen he allows them avenues to take advantage of us. It is when he and his
\nteam who are paid by taxpayers protect the interest of Nigerians that they
\nwould indeed fit into being addressed as public servants.<\/p>\n
ug.ugovester@gmail.com<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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