Why Banks Rationalise Cash Payments At ATMs, Banking Halls

In a bid to ensure the little cash available got to as many customers as possible, Deposit Money Banks(DMBs) were rationalising cash payment to customers via the banking halls or through the Automated Tellers Machines(ATMs) yesterday, NATIONAL ECONOMY can now reveal.

Our correspondents who visited banks in Lagos, the hub of banking services, and Ogun States yesterday disclosed that banks pegged daily disbursement to a customer per day  to between N5,000 and N10,000 depending on the bank, the location and the available cash.

This is despite the directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) to banks to resume over the counter cash payment with the redesigned naira notes, even as banks have warned staff to avoid wearing customized bank shirts, among others.

NATIONAL ECONOMY findings revealed that banks within the two States were, earlier in the morning yesterday, paying each customer N10,000 maximum withdrawal amount both over-the-counter  and through the Automated Tellers Machines(ATMs) but as noon approached, when  the banks began to run out of cash, it was limited to N5,000 per customer across both channels.

By 3pm yesterday, findings showed that most of the banks have run out of cash as customers loitered endlessly at ATMs across Lagos and Ogun metropolis.

Our correspondents, who went round banks in Lagos State and its neighbouring Ogun State, learnt that, there were huge crowd who had assembled at most bank branches even before the banking hour, waiting to withdraw. However, some of the banks whose branches  were in volatile environment armed their premises with heavy security presence  to prevent hoodlums and aggrieved customers from wrecking havoc on the banks’ facilities as well as ensure orderliness while queuing to withdraw.

Similarly, banks within Sango-Ota, Agbado, Ifo, among other areas of Ogun State equally witness mammoth crowd who came to withdraw their money and have access to the new notes.

A visit to Zenith Bank Plc, at Ojota Ogudu road, Lagos revealed that the ATM was not loaded with cash  as at 3:30pm on Monday. Meanwhile, the bank paid N5,000 maximum over the counter at the early hours on Monday, but stopped paying at 11:00am, when they ran out of cash.

The same scenario played out at Union Bank within the same area  as the bank only paid N5,000 over the counter, to ensure that all their customers go home with funds. The bank stopped paying at around 12:00 pm, when they ran out of cash.

Some of the customers who spoke with NATIONAL ECONOMY, however expressed their frustration, while calling on the government to intervene.

A trader at Ojota, Mr John Jide, told NATIONAL ECONOMY that he has not been able to trade for the passed one week. “I can do transfer. I am at Union Bank today because the transfer I did last week did not deliver, and as such, nobody released goods for me to trade with. Meanwhile, the bank has debited me.”

“If the bank has allowed transfer to work, it would have gone a long way in alleviating our pains. I plead with CBN and the government to intervene,” Jide stated.

At Makoko First Bank branch, the bank was not paying either in the banking hall or the ATMs except for transfers.

Moreover, the GTBank Obalende branch was not  paying in the banking hall, however, GTB cardholders can withdraw N10,000 through the ATMs while non-GTB customers are limited to N1,000 per withdrawal but can use the ATM 10 times to make N10,000 a day.

At First Bank in Ademola Tokunbo, Victoria Island(VI), Lagos, the attendant on the counter said one cannot withdraw from the counter but only at the ATMs. However, at the bank’s ATM, First bank cardholders can withdraw N10,000 while non-FirstBank ATM cardholders can collect N2,000 at a time but can do it five times daily.

In Access Banking hall, the cashier said, they do not have money to pay out. As at 3:50pm yesterday, the ATMs are no longer dispensing cash, although, the security officer at the bank disclosed that the ATMs dispensed  in the morning.

In the GTB VI, Lagos banking hall, one of the cashiers said: ‘we are not paying on the counter and this is because we are following instructions not to pay on the counter.’

However, the ATM within the bank premises was not dispensing but the one within the 1004 Estate was dispensing N10,000 to GTB cardholders, while N1,000 to other banks’ ATM card users.

Meanwhile, following  the violence that sprouted in some bank branches last week due to the scarcity of Naira notes, some banks have issued security warnings to their staff with some not opening up the banking halls to customers.

This is as security experts say, if not urgently addressed, it could lead to a national uprising.

The Central Bank of Nigeira (CBN) as well as banks in the country had, at the weekend, called for calm, understanding and patience.

NATIONAL ECONOMY Checks revealed that more ATMs are paying cash as against the number of ATMs that were paying cash last week.

Queues which did not subside, at the weekend, grew longer on Monday with some banks not allowing customers into their banking halls. Asides these, some banks had issued memos to their staff, warning them to dress down and not wear or carry anything that could link them to their jobs.

This may not be unconnected to reports that a banker had been assaulted on his way to work on Monday morning.

Last week, videos of bank staff being assaulted within the banking halls were all over the social media. There were also some banks that had their properties, including ATMs destroyed.

A memo by one of the banks as seen by NATIONAL ECONOMY read: ‘In view of ongoing security concerns across the country, all staff are hereby advised to dress down to work for safety purposes.’

Speaking with NATIONAL ECONOMY yesterday, a security expert and former military personnel, who is the managing director/chief executive of Strict Guards Security, Dr Chinye Bone stressed the need for government to, as a matter of urgency, address the situation on ground.

According to him, the attacks on banks “is beginning to look like a national uprising and Nigerian security agencies and the government should be concerned with what is going to end up becoming. It would have been better if they were open protest than these pockets of violence from branch to branch.

“What we should be concerned with is what can be done to reduce these problems and what should be done is simple. The CBN and the federal government should broadcast to Nigerians how much they are releasing to the commercial banks and force the commercial banks to broadcast the distribution of those funds made available to them and also  advise every branch to announce how much every customer is entitled to and that would reduce the violence.

“CBN is giving Nigerians the impression that money has been released to commercial banks and that the commercial banks are hoarding the money. These people out there only know the commercial banks that they deposited money with and they want their money.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had, last week, directed banks to disburse the new naira notes over the counter.

In a statement issued and signed by the CBN Director, Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, the apex bank noted that, “In line with this resolve, the Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has directed deposit money banks (DMBs) to commence the payment of the redesigned Naira notes over the counter, subject to a maximum daily payout limit of N20,000.”