Posted by By SEUN ADESIDA on
Nigerian banks have sent a passionate appeal to Nigerians and the banking public to show understanding in the face of various challenges they face daily in their various transactions with the banks.
Nigerian banks have sent a passionate appeal to Nigerians and the banking public to show understanding in the face of various challenges they face daily in their various transactions with the banks.
Mr. Eddy Ademosu, president of the Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMBS), made the plea during a press briefing in Lagos, themed: Let Us Sustain the Banking Reforms, against the backdrop of various allegations of inadequacies levelled against them by customers.
According to Ademosu, 'the reason for this briefing is because we have had series of allegations and the Nigerian press has not really shown any understanding. If today we can have our colleagues running a banner heading like this : ‘Banks of Fraud', I think there is a missing point.'
He said, 'Some people have unauthorised deposits in their accounts and when this happens, it's only an honest Nigerian that would report such incidence for correction. Both unauthorised deductions and deposits are all part of systemic errors that can affect any ICT system, since ICT is still evolving in Nigeria, Nigerians should show understanding.
'So, lets understand that these are system errors and we should not crucify ourselves for such things. Rather, all parties should dialogue with a view to finding a solution to the problem. The banks operate within the larger Nigerian society. The society has its problems. The banking industry is a microcosm of the society. The banking industry is facing the same challenges the larger society is facing,' said Ademosu.
Reacting on some of the issues raised media reports, he said, 'When a customer obtains a credit from a bank, it becomes an issue, but when the customer was seeking credit, it was not an issue. Banks are entities and they are business concerns, they are set up primarily as business concerns. As such, they must operate as a profitable business unit, the business of banking is predicated on trust, that is when you look at it from all perspectives, credit, deposits and fraud, and all banks value their relationship with their customers.'
For customers of the banks he advised that when a customers' account is wrongly charged the customer must seek refund from the bank.
On efforts to address the issues within the industry, he disclosed 'We are going to meet with various stakeholders in the economy, with the view to presenting the challenges and problems facing the industry itself, except if stakeholders accept the fact that banks too have problems then we will continue to attack ourselves wrongly, what we are calling for from all stakeholders is caution.'
Ademosu continued: 'Today's banking is driven by Information Communication Technology (ICT). I want to say, it is not 100 per cent error free, ATMs like any machine could develop fault. The common cases are customers account reflecting withdrawals not authorised by the owner of the ATM card. But the banks have procedures for correcting such problem. So, customers should approach their banks to effect corrections. ATMs dispense slip for every transaction and that slip becomes the evidence to prove and get the issues around cashless withdrawals and unauthorised withdraw problems resolved.