“Say No”: CBN Speaks on How Customers of GTB, First Bank, Others Can Treat Illegal Charges

• The CBN requests that customers report any unlawful charges associated with any transaction
• The apex bank said this while responding to complaints about arbitrary bank charges across the country
• It recommended that customers contrast the fees they were paying with the guidelines established by the CBN

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

Customers are asked to report any illegal charges on any transaction by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

In response to complaints about arbitrary bank charges, Mohammed Muazu, Head of Complaint Management Division, Consumer Protection Department, CBN, advised customers to review the CBN's handbook on bank charges to determine how much they should be charged for any given transaction.

Muazu suggested that customers compare the charges they were receiving with the parameters set forth by the CBN by carefully reviewing the online bank statements that were issued to them by their banks.

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“If your bank charges you more than what is in the CBN guideline, you have the right to say no. Let us try to know our rights. Most customers do not even review their statements when their bank sends to them. Review your account statement every month and if you see what you do not understand, complain. Do not sleep on what you do not understand. CBN is not your first line of defence, we only listen to escalated complaints,” he said

Muazu counseled bank clients to make sure they fully comprehend any product before signing up for one in a bank.

Consumers from a number of banks told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday that bank fees are getting out of hand, Daily Sun reported.

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A customer, Helen Agodo, in one of Nigeria’s foremost bank complained that her bank's everyday withdrawals from her account were getting intolerable.

Agodo said that some days, she could receive debit alerts totalling about N1,000 from her bank.

She told New Agency of Nigeria:

”In fact, I do not blame some people who decide not to put their monies in a bank.

”There was a day I calculated the debit alert charges that I received from my bank, it was up to N1,000 just for a day. You will now imagine the total amount the bank will get if they do the same deduction from like 1,000 to 2,000 of their customers.”

Miss Cheta Ugochukwu, a customer of another bank, described the charges as unfair.

The initiative, according to Ugochukwu, was not a sound or sincere business plan.

She said that the majority of banks didn't care about their clients; they just wanted to make money.

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”The charges are getting too much and the worst is that it is every midnight that you get the alert.

”Most times, I can get the N6.98 Telco fee from my bank like 10 times in a day but whereas I did like three online transactions.

”I wonder how they calculate this because it is unfair given the current state of the economy,” she said.

According to a bank representative who begged to remain anonymous, their institution charges clients in accordance with CBN norms.

CBN clarifies cybersecurity levy on customers

Legit.ng reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed that the controversial cybersecurity levy remained suspended.

Media reports have quoted a recent CBN publication titled Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade, and Exchange Policy Guideline that the levy has been reintroduced but has been reduced to 0.005% from the initial 0.5%.

However, in a circular released on Friday, September 19, the CBN noted that reports have connected new directives with outdated policies, such as the cyber security levy and fuel subsidy issues.

Source: Legit.ng