Bank customers in the country have commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the downward review of charges on transaction services in the banking system, describing the regulatory directive to banks, other financial and non-financial institutions as relief given the high charges being paid by them over the past years.
Speaking on the policy initiative, an Abuja-based bank customer, Jonah Apeh, said: “Let me say I am very happy with the CBN for doing this for us. We have been spending too much on PoS transactions and this is really bad. In some places, if you want to withdraw N2,000 with your ATM, the operators charge N200. So, with the new order given them, our cries over their illegal charges will be over.”
In her comments, a Lagos-based trader in food items, Mrs. Veronica Onyemaechi, lauded the apex bank for revising the transaction charges down, saying that “this shows that CBN people are listening to our complaints on high charges by the banks, especially the PoS operators.
“Here we sell at Mushin market, the PoS agents are really cheating us. Me and my people here will like to appeal to the CBN people to monitor the operators and punish those among them that still charge customers more than we are expected to pay to them”, she appealed.
Reacting to the apex bank’s latest directive, an Akure, Ondo State-based retired civil servant, Julius Adegoke, told our correspondent that “the decision of the CBN is good for people like us, who from time to time are always cheated by banks in form of ATM maintenance charges and other illegal deductions from our accounts whenever we do transactions.
“When you notice the spurious deductions and you lodge complaints, they will promise to re-credit your account but they never do that. So, we are happy with how CBN has made some transactions charge-free and reduced charges on many others. We want the inspectors in CBN to do surveillance from time on the banks to checkmate their excesses”, he added.
The apex bank had last Friday announced a downward review of charges and rates on transactions across the banking ecosystem.
The revised charges were contained in the CBN’s new ‘Guide to Charges by Banks Other Financial and Non-Financial’, which applies to financial and non-financial institutions in the country.
The revised charges covered Standing Order Charge (In-Branch); ATM Maintenance fees; electronic fund transfers and bulk payments, among others.
While the apex bank stated that the Standing Order charge for intra-bank would be free instead of the N300 contained in the 2017 guideline, it reduced interbank transfer charges to a maximum of N50 per transaction compared to the N300 held in 2017.
In addition, it directed that Bills payment, including bills payment through other e-channels, is Negotiable subject to a maximum of N500 per beneficiary payable by sender, a review from the N1,200 or 0.75 per cent for a biller or merchant to pay.
The CBN also reviewed downwards Electronic funds transfer to N10 charge for a transaction below N5000; N26 for transaction of N5001 to N50,000 while transactions above N50,000 will be charged N50.
Also, the apex bank also reduced Withdrawals on other banks’ ATMs from N65 to N35 after the third withdrawal within the same month. This is just as it reduced ATM bill payment from N100 to N50. Debit card maintenance charges that were N100/month have been removed in the new guideline.
It would be recalled that in 2019, the CBN announced a reduction of all bank charges, with some getting more than 50 percent cut, which took effect from January 1, 2020.
According to the apex bank, the latest directive to the banks and other institutions was aimed at making financial services more accessible and affordable to various stakeholders in the economy.
