Urge CBN to stop hidden charges by banks
From IHEANACHO NWOSU, Abuja
The House of Representatives has kicked against the introduction of N100 monthly as maintenance fee on ATM cards by some banks, describing it as exploitative. Consequently, the chamber mandated its Committee on Banking and Currency to probe all approved bank charges on all accounts and compliance by banks and report back to it in a fortnight.
Debating a motion sponsored by Rep. Aliu Babatunde Kazeem, the lawmakers called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, and other relevant authorities, to urgently look into the issue and act to halt the trend. Describing the N100 maintenance charge as unacceptable, Kazeem accused some banks of using the back-door to charge customers on ATM usage, despite the directive by CBN that no bank should collect charges from ATM users. Arguing that the Bankers’ Committee had abolished the interbank transaction charges, the lawmaker said t was surprising that some banks were still bent on ripping customers off.
He informed the Chamber that First Bank of Nigeria Limited was on the verge of commencing a monthly deduction of maintenance fee on their cards with effect from March 2013. He reminded the House that the CBN Governor had said customers will no longer pay N100 on withdrawals on ATM whenever they use banks other than theirs starting from December 17, 2012. He said: “If this maintenance fee is introduced, it will cause untold hardship on bank customers.
If this maintenance fee is introduced, it will reduce the patronage of ATMs thereby affecting adversely the financial inclusion strategy of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
Supporting the motion, Abiodun Awoniyi declared that introduction of N100 monthly maintenance fee was a fraud since ,according to him, banks charge customers before issuing them ATM cards.
He maintained that there was no other ways bank maintain ATM cards. In their separate submissions some lawmakers including Linus Okorie, Hussain Namadi, Aminu Sulaiman and Hassan Sale contended that banks in the country were already introducing sundry phoney commissions and miscellaneous charges which they said were shrouded to customers.
Although some members including Godwin Elumelu, Friday Itula, Austin Ogboburo and Hamid Akinlade kicked against the motion, when the Speaker, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal put the question, the prayers were adopted in an overwhelming voice vote by majority of the members.
