Following the cancellation of the N100 ATM withdrawal fee by banks, the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has promised tomonitor the activities of the banks to ensure that the cost was not transferred back to customers through other means.
NDIC Managing Director, AlhajiUmaru Ibrahim, said there was a likelihood that some banks might want to shift the N100 charge to other areas. He however assured customers of the banks that the corporation in conjunction with the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) would ensure full compliance with the rule
“The decision not to charge fees on ATM withdrawals by the banks is voluntary and they would be checked to ensure that they would not transfer the charges back to customer,” he said.
Ibrahim urged bank customers to report any suspicious transactions or charges on their accounts to the NDIC or the CBN. “We enjoin people to contact the regulators, the NDIC and the CBN, which have put in place 24-hour customer protection departments, if they suspect any fraud and they can be sure that the cases would be addressed.”
Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) had at the Bankers’ Committee meeting held in Abuja earlier in the week agreed to wave the N100 charge on ATM transactions across banks.
The Group Managing Director of FirstBank of Nigeria Plc, BisiOnasanya, who spoke at the end of the meeting,explained that the banks would return to their drawing board to take a decision on how to share the cost.
“We need to understand that these services have some inherent costs. What we have just decided is that banks will no longer be passing this cost to their customers,” Onasanya stated.