Experts and critical stakeholders in the nation’s economy have hailed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the reported fine of nine commercial banks for failing to feed their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) with cash.
The apex bank, it would be recalled, fined the nine banks N1.35 Billion for failing to provide cash in their ATMs, even as they could not pay their customers across the counter, limiting such payments to only N10,000.
The affected banks include Fidelity Bank Plc, First Bank Plc, Keystone Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc, Globus Bank Plc, Providus Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, and Sterling Bank Plc. Handing down the order, the CBN’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi Ali, had said the action was to ensure “seamless cash flow is paramount to maintaining public trust and economic stability.”
She added: “The CBN will not hesitate to impose further sanctions on any institution found violating its cash circulation guidelines.”
Reacting in an interview with FCNN, Professor John Ebhomien, a financial expert, said the recent fine imposed on nine banks by the CBN for failure to make cash available at ATMs is a welcome development.
Ebhomien, a former World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF), stated: “The CBN should go further to sanction those banks who engage in sharp practices and other misdemeanors. “It is not yet uhuru in the financial sector.
The CBN should direct their searchlight on the operations of Bureau de Change operators, which has generated serious concerns about their practices.
“The embarrassment and nuisance caused on our streets with their slogan ‘dollar or pounds’ is unacceptable.
“They should be confined to their offices as done in civilised climes. Even the market men and women and the motor parts sellers and artisans do not help matters in their charges.
“The price of their products in a day will increase the next day, on the excuse that ‘the price of dollars has increased.”
According to Ebhomien, “the dollarisation of the nation’s economy does not help matters. The CBN must urgently set up appropriate measures to address these hydra-headed problems in the banking sector of our economy.
That is the way to go to build confidence in the naira.” Bishop (Dr) Herbert Ekechukwu, an economist and Christian cleric, while responding to FCNN enquiries, stated: “The fine on nine commercial banks for the failure to make cash available in their ATMs is a welcome development. “It is a way to curtail sharp practices in the banking sector.
Customers have been facing a lot of frustration in accessing their money from bank ATMs and the point of sale (POS) operators.
“The move by CBN is a response to numerous complaints from customers about the poor access to cash from point of sale POS operators.
“Such repeated failure in ATM service can erode consumer trust in the financial system. “Banks need to ensure reliable access to funds.
The fine also proves that the regulatory body is closely monitoring the banking sector and enforcing compliance with service best standard. “It will make other banks sit up and improve their service.
“Banks also need to ensure investment in better technology and infrastructure to ensure their ATM services improve in functionality and inventory management system to monitor cash level, “Any effort to sanitise the banking sector is commendable and will improve the bank’s patronage.”
Dr Victor Mathew, a security expert and cleric stated: “The CBN is on point in sanctioning those nine erring banks. I will demand those nine banks to be named and shamed. “It is a right step in the right direction because most times the ATMs do not dispense cash. “In fact, to get an ATM to dispense cash has become unusual. It is now a new normal as the ATMs no longer work.
“There are various conspiracy theories that the POS operators are working with the banks to deliberately starve ATMs of cash in order to keep the POS operators in business.
“ATMs are now used as items of decoration in bank premises. “The CBN should beam its searchlight on all banks because from my assessment, except for the new banks, the old ones are all guilty of this problem.
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“In summary, the banks should strengthen their ATM operations while the CBN should tighten its oversight function on the banks, mete out more and severe punishment on erring banks.”
Stay tuned for more news.
