Bank customers groan as POS operators hawk new cash notes

Point of Sale (POS) operators have been spotted in the Lekki area of Lagos State hawking new Naira notes as bank customers lament their inability to withdraw cash from ATMs.

The operators charged N4,000 as a fee for N10,000 withdrawals. They displayed cash notes from N100 to N1000 for interested persons.

This is coming a few months after most banks carried out upgrades on their digital infrastructure to serve customers better.

However, most bank services have deteriorated with users experiencing what appear to be the worst offerings in recent years.

Sadly, over-the-counter (OTC) services have not offered any respite for customers who are being systematically forced to pay huge fees to POS operators to access their monies.

More frustrating for bank customers is that most banks have restricted cash withdrawals per transaction to a maximum of N10,000.

This has led to another round of cash scarcity across the country, pushing up agent banks’ charges by as much as 100 percent or more in some cases.

These rising challenges come days to Christmas and just when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) warned that it would begin to sanction banks that fail to upscale their capacity to serve the fast-growing population of online banking customers.

Data from the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) showed that cashless transactions in Nigeria rose by 84.37 per cent to N572.63 trillion in the first seven months of 2024, suggesting that the digital banking space is busier than ever.

This growth showed the growing reliance on digital payments in a country. As of the end of 2023, cashless payments grew to N611.06 trillion from N395.38 trillion in 2022, with experts saying the numbers would hit unprecedented levels in 2024.

The payment platforms of banks are currently jaundiced, bringing harrowing experiences to customers in the last three months of the year.

Before the widespread system upgrade, which primarily sought to improve customer experience, banks had relied on foreign companies to manage their IT infrastructure, spending significant amounts on maintenance in foreign currencies.

https://guardian.ng/news/bank-customers-groan-as-pos-operators-hawk-new-cash-notes/

The big digital infrastructure spending continued in the first half of 2024 when five major Nigerian banks collectively invested N178.77 billion in enhancing their information technology infrastructure, according to the analysis of their financial statements.

Damilola Adeleke

Adeleke Damilola (ACTION) is a versatile content writer with expertise in news writing and a seasoned media professional and broadcast specialist. Currently serving as News Editor for DNews Info, Damilola is also the CEO of the ACTION brand, committed to shaping lives and establishing a legacy of excellence for present and future generations.