How banks, Telcos frustrated consumers during #EndSARS protests

ATM queue

By Victor Uzoho
• PSBs, Mobile Money Agents Ripped Off Customers During Curfew

As the recent #EndSARS protests that shook the country degenerated into social unrest, where massive looting and destruction of public and private properties became the order of the day, various sectors of the economy felt the impact differently.

 
Chief among these was the banking industry, usually regarded as an essential service sector, and which even during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown faithfully stayed at its duty post, was unable to play its traditional role in the heat of the protest. Customers were left high and dry, and could not access much-needed cash.
 
The curfew imposed by some state governments to douse tension and ensure that normalcy returned as quickly as possible was a big relief and welcomed by many banks that were afraid of attacks by hoodlums, who targeted and plundered some prominent banks. Consequently, little or no provision was made for consumers to meet their monetary needs.

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Cashless ATMs, Greedy agents, Versus Consumers
FOR many banks customers, the period the crisis lasted was quite challenging, as it was filled with agonisng experiences. Initially, when the curfew commenced, some customers adopted the e-channels to do transactions, while others who needed cash resorted to Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Mobile Money Agents (MMAs), and Payment Service Banks (PSBs).
 
Investigation by The Guardian revealed that many ATMs in different locations across the country didn’t dispense cash during the period, leaving customers frustrated, as many of them came to make cash withdrawals, out of the fear that the curfew could be elongated.
 
The Guardian’s visit to banks and ATM galleries located along Okota Road, Lagos, the week following the curfew, saw many of the banks under lock and key, with no access to their ATMs, while those with accessible ATMs had no cash in them.
 
The banks included First City Monument Bank (FCMB), United Bank for Africa (UBA), Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB), Access Bank, Ecobank, Sterling Bank, First Bank and Zenith Bank.
 
Among the banks, only Zenith Bank’s ATMs dispensed cash. Most customers sighted at the bank’s ATMs withdrew large sums, which they said was prompted by apprehension and uncertainty, as they were not sure if the crisis would end soon.
 
Uchenna Ofobuike, a customer, withdrew N200, 000. He explained that he was not sure business activities would return to normal in the weeks following the protest.

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“With the recent unrest, I don’t know how the coming week will be. As you can see, there is no money on other ATMs around. So, I had to take enough cash in case the curfew is further extended,” he said.
 
Another customer, Elijah Ajayi, said before coming to Okota Road, he had visited all the banks on Ago Palace Way, but their ATMs had no cash. By Friday, no ATM was dispensing cash across Okota, Jankande, Ire-Akari, Ilasa, Isolo, and Oshodi areas, when The Guardian visited.
 
As the Lagos State government relaxed the curfew from 8am to 6pm, the following day being Saturday, this reporter visited the Computer Village, the popular technology hub located at Ikeja. But the case wasn’t different here, as all the banks in the area had no cash in their ATMs.
 
With this disruption, PSBs and MMAs became the last resort for frustrated customers in need of cash. But rather than help, the agents took advantage of the crisis to extort consumers.
 
At Ire-Akari, MMAs charged as much as N300 for transactions of between N1000 to N5000, which ordinarily should have attracted a fee of only N100, while some even charged N100 for every N1000 withdrawn.
 
At a street close to Century Bus Stop, also along Ago Palace Way, an Access Bank’s MMA charged N250 for N5000 withdrawal, while the same bank debited N100 from the customer for the same transaction, making the total charge N350.
 
But not only bank customers in Lagos had this bitter story to tell. The story was not any different in many other parts of the country. Esther Ijeoma, who resides in Aba, Abia State, said throughout the unrest, no bank functioned in the place.

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“Not even the ATMs worked,” she said. “I had to travel from Aba to Umuahia one Friday to use one particular ATM that had a heavy security presence. By the time I got to Umuahia, they had locked the place. It was not a funny experience at all.”
 
Zama Emmanuel, another customer that resides in Ogbor Hill in Aba, said: “ATMs were the most guarded infrastructure during the unrest in my area. So, the queues at the available ATMs were simply outrageous. Meanwhile, MMAs charged N100 for every N1000 withdrawn.”
 
In Edo State, a customer at University of Benin, Benin City, explained that in the week of the crisis, the ATMs didn’t work until Friday, despite the large crowds that besieged ATMs.
 
She said: “An alternative to avoiding the endless queues was using MMAs, but they soon ran out of cash, while some insisted on paying only N2000. Some individuals that had cash sold it.”
 
In Imo State, it was the same story. Mercy Ukandu, who resides in Okigwe was lucky to make a good bargain. “I went to make cash withdrawal, but found no money in all the ATMs I visited. Eventually, I had to transfer money into someone’s account and he gave me cash, while I paid him N100 for the transferred N3000.
 
Miss Jane Joshua, who resides along Enugu-Onitsha Expressway in Anambra State, said withdrawing from ATMs was tough during the unrest, as banks ATMs stopped paying.  
 
“It was a neighbor that came to my rescue. She had POS but charged N100 for every N1000 withdrawn. And though I pleaded with her to consider the fact that we are neighbours, she bluntly refused to do anything or reduced her charges,” she said.