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Bimbola Oyesola
Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over its newly released “Guide to Charges by Banks and other Financial Institutions”, which reviewed downward some electronic banking transaction charges.
The Director General of NECA, Dr. Timothy Olawale, in a statement described the new Guideline as a welcome development in some part, as it will make financial services more accessible and affordable to various stakeholders in the economy.
“The Guideline will encourage Nigerians to be more aligned with the cashless policy of the CBN”, he said.
He applauded the reduction in the remote-on-us fee (from other bank’s ATM) to a maximum of N35 from N65 after third withdrawal within the same month.
On the electronic funds transfer, Dr. Olawale noted, “although the new guideline introduced new additions for transactions below N50,000, attracting N25 and N10 respectively, we suggest that transactions of N100,000 and below should fall within the newly reviewed charges of N25, taking into account the low income earners.”
He drew the attention of the CBN to the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) charge, which was reviewed upward from N750 for transaction of N500,000 and above to N950.
According to the NECA boss, “we are of the opinion that in the spirit of benevolence demonstrated by the CBN, if the charges cannot be reviewed downward to about N300, the status quo of N750 should subsist.”
While expressing hope for a successful implementation of the new Guidelines, he called for the total cancellation of N50 POS charge on Stamp Duty still in operation, stressing that the conspiracy of the N50 Stamp Duty charge is a burden on Nigerians and businesses as the citizens grapple under the weight of inflation and eroding purchasing power.
He argued that these charges, under any guise tend to further impoverish the banking populace.
Meanwhile, bank customers in Kano on Monday commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for reviewing downward its policy on bank charges announced at the weekend.
Some of the customers who spoke to newsmen in Kano, expressed happiness over the policy.
Malam Usman Baffa, a trader at Kwari market in the metropolis, for instance observed that previous charges were indeed indeed injurious to depositors but regretted they could not help the situation.
According to Mrs Amina Usman, a civil servant in Kano, also said that salary earners have suffered long queues to withdraw from their mother banks to avoid excess charges.
She explained that although the charges were in bits, but they accumulated when much withdrawals were made.
Another trader, Muhammad DanAli, also commended CBN for reducing the charges “at a time when people are in difficult financial state.”
He added that: “A difference of N30 from a single transaction isn’t a joke. We are grateful for the reduction. We earlier assumed and complained that many policies favoured the banks.”
The CBN on Sunday released a revised guidelines to bank charges, mandating commercial banks to charge N35 for cash withdrawals from other banks’ Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
This represents a reduction of N30 from previous N65 after a third withdrawal within a month.
