Jamila Nuhu Musa
10 August 2008
Electronic transaction is fashionable all over the world, but its introduction into the Nigerian economy is facing, not just teething problems, but serious ones. The ATM machines in banks, the use of Master Cards to pay visa fees, the online registration for Senior School Certificate Examinations, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the post- UME examinations, online recruitment into the military and paramilitary institutions.
The list is getting longer, but instead of easing the way business is being transacted in the country, it is spreading pains.
After the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) came the Automated Teller Machine ATM. It was considered an overdue banking process for Nigeria which even a small country like Togo had started using more than five years earlier and was introduced in South Africa in the early 80s with now about 9000 machines.
The ATM franchise in Nigeria is also growing rapidly; the installation of the machines was the fact that high number of bank robbery and crimes in Nigeria had become the order of the day. As a result, the physical security of ATMs in Nigeria became very critical to the success of their installation in the country. Not only is the general crime rate very high, there have been numerous attacks on the bullion vans used to move cash from one location to the other by Nigeria's financial institutions. Nigerian Mobile Internet Units, which are, basically, buses fitted with VSAT technology and personal computers were also to meet the requirement of Physical Security Protection and also ensure the security of ATM personnel and equipment.
Further information on ATMs showed that they have inbuilt security system of alarms and monitoring facilities to beef up their security and stay one step ahead of criminals. If an attempt is made to tamper with or break into an ATM for instance, an alarm will be recorded at a central control centre by means of an SMS message and a reaction unit dispatched to the site.
A survey conducted by Intermarc Consulting Limited indicated that the ATM services provided by banks and non-financial institutions have become the most popular e-business platforms in Nigeria.
ATMs that support Visa cards are also available in the country while the First Bank of Nigeria Plc took the innovation further by launching the first Foreign Exchange (Forex) ATM in Nigeria with unique selling features that include a mini Bureau De Change that allows the feeding in of foreign currency that will be converted to give the Naira equivalent. It is expected to be user friendly and also reduce the risk of fake notes, according to the Executive Secretary, Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Mr. Uduma Cletus, during its launch.
But despite the new technology and now well-established facility, controversies have trailed its use. People who have become used to the technology are thinking of having both the interswitch and quickcash cards, though that may also mean having bank accounts with two banks providing services on the different platforms, Zenith Bank (interswitch) and Equitorial Trust Bank (quickcash) for instance.
But for others, ATM is a bygone conclusion. A medical doctor with the Nisa Premier Hospital in Jabi, Dr Innocent Monday Odiba, said he had since discontinued use of the ATM after he was 'defrauded' to the tune of N20,000 when he made a transaction with the Sky Bank branch in Gwarimpa, using his First Bank ATM. "I had requested N20,000 but instead N40,000 was debited and attempts to make Skye Bank pay back my money failed", he lamented while disclosing that one of his colleagues also lost N40,000 at a Diamond Bank in Abuja.
A journalist, Mallam Sulaiman Maina who also lost his N5, 000 to the Intercontinental Bank Plc ATM in Mararaba, Nasarawa state, said it was a bitter experience as he had just come back from a journey and urgently needed some money to serve some family needs. He said meet were three machines at the time and even though one was faulty, there was no notice to indicate this. His ATM got stuck in the process while the money was not cashed, despite frustrated efforts.
Aminu Turaki, another customer of Intercontinental, lost the sum of N10, 000 and was debited the same amount even before he left the ATM point. In the case of Abdullahi Abdullahi who banks with the UBA, the ATM may have come to stay, but its performance has left much to be desired. Narrating his ordeal to Sunday Trust, he said after he complained to the Skye Bank branch at Gimbiya Street, he was directed to the Lagos head office of the bank.
A retired banker, Mallam Yusuf Sule, said he was familiar with the system's shortcoming because he also suffered a similar fate when he lost N10,000. He said he used his ATM card at Oceanic bank to withdraw N10,000 but his account was debited to the tune of N20,000.
The ATM system should not be seen to only record increase in size but make significant improvement for financial benefits of customers. A reference point is the Pulse's excellent consumer survey of December 2001, which showed that US consumers saw their ATM card as more important to their lifestyles than the PC, the Internet and cell (mobile) phone. There is also a study which reveals that people in Germany have said that they simply cannot live without their ATMs, according to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur report recently.
As the banking sector in Nigeria targets reinvigoration in line with its reforms, it is expected that measures would be taken to rectify the ATM anomalies. It is consoling however that some of the banks are alive to the challenges as a text message from Access Bank a few days ago indicated. "The message alerted the bank's customers to please ignore any promo/call asking you to give information on your ATM, card or withdraw any sum of money by keying in numbers on an ATM. It is a fraud!"
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