Enough of this ATM fraud

Interswitch, a Nigeria’n electronic transaction switching and payment processing company gleefully introduced their services in one of the Nigerian dailies publication not too long ago. They have introduced yet another product to the retail banking segment.They also reeled out some helpful and inspiring statistics of their outreach of over 30 million (ATM) cardholders, some 10,000 […]

Interswitch, a Nigeria’n electronic transaction switching and payment processing company gleefully introduced their services in one of the Nigerian dailies publication not too long ago. They have introduced yet another product to the retail banking segment.
They also reeled out some helpful and inspiring statistics of their outreach of over 30 million (ATM) cardholders, some 10,000 ATM(s) exists across the country with some 4000 capable of performing quick Teller services platform.
The most worrisome aspect is the seamless collaboration between interswitch/ATM service providers and those banks in initiating several undisclosed charges under spurious terms, such as ATM card charges, ATM withdrawal charges, ATM alert monthly charges etc. The near absence of proper legislation to moderate the e-banking business transaction leaves victims of these sharp practices without any legal reprieve should the need for such arise.
The possibility of proper service pricing is ruled out in the sense that it is a duopoly practice. The banks and the ATM service providers, on the one hand against the bank’s customers on the other divide. This can be by way of undisclosed service charges not known to the bank’s depositors who use such facilities.
Most of the stressed banks have lately resorted to subtle and steady pilfering of depositors’ funds in other to meet up with their recurrent expenditures and shore up profit earnings. The seemingly minut deductions from depositor’s funds are easily overlooked by their mass depositors. The arithmetical computations of these sundry illegal and administrative pilfering annually amounts to billions of naira.
Dr Al-Mustapha Ussiju Medaner is a public affairs analyst with the National Assembly