How You Can Stop Banks From Taking Undue Advantage Of You

Saving your hard-earned money in banks in Nigeria may be worrisome given the numerous charges and surcharges. However, the Central Bank of Nigeria has put in place several policies to protect your interests as a customer of banks in Nigeria.

Below are some of these policies.

Banks Have No Right to Convert Funds In Your Dormant Account Into Their Income.

Under no circumstances can money deposit banks convert funds in your dormant account into their income, no matter the length of time the account has gone into dormancy. This is according to the CBN Guidelines which form part of its circular FPR/DIR/CIR/GEN/05/013 of October 7, 2015 to all financial institutions. The Guidelines state that these funds in dormant accounts would continue to be treated as funds belonging to the account holders until they are withdrawn by the account holders. The Guidelines also makes it mandatory for banks to keep records of all the dormant accounts, notwithstanding the number of years the accounts have gone into dormancy. Where you want the accounts to be reactivated, your banks are obliged to do just so. Again, you are not to be charged for the reactivation of the dormant accounts.

Not Everybody Can Have Access to Your BVN

By the Central Bank’s Circular on the Regulatory Framework for BVN Watchlist for Nigerian Financial System, not everybody has access to your Bank Verification Number (BVN). Persons who are permitted to have such access include your banks, Other Financial Institutions such as Insurance Companies, Mobile Money Operators, Payment Service Providers, Law Enforcement Agencies. Once the employees of these institutions have contact with your BVN, they are obliged to keep any information they have obtained in the process confidential. Where you desire to change any information related to your BVN, you are only permitted to do so, in the case of your name, for a maximum of 2 times, and in the case of your date of your birth, only once in a life time.

You Shall Be Refunded Full Proceeds of A Failed Transaction Within 24 Hours

Where you are carrying out certain transactions online through electronic funds transfer or POS in Nigeria and the transaction fails, the Central Bank’s Circular on the Regulation of Instant (Inter-Bank) Electronic Funds Transfer Services in Nigeria has directed the entity that received the proceeds of the failed transaction to refund your account with the proceeds of the failed transaction. Where such proceeds of the failed transactions are not refunded within 24 hours of the transaction, you are then entitled to the sum of N10, 000 for every such transaction you made. All you need to do is to ensure you provide the details of the beneficiary of the transaction. The CBN expects that all such issues would be treated within a three working day period.

Nigerian Bank and Customers

There Is A Limit To How Much You Would Be Charged For Every Withdrawal Or Deposit You Make

By the CBN’s Circular on Nationwide Implementation of the Cash-Less Policy, only 3% processing fees is required for withdrawals of N500,000 and above for individual account holders, and 3% processing fees for withdrawals of N3,000,000 and above for corporate bodies. No such fees are required where you are making lodgement of funds into your accounts. The scheme applies particularly to Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Abia, Anambra, Rivers States and the FCT

There Is Also A Limit To How Much You Are Charged For Every Transaction On Your Account.

Each time you are charged for certain bank transactions you make, you must be sure the charges are right. By the Central Bank’s Guide To Charges by Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria, there are limits to how much you can be charged for every transaction you make. By this Guide, reactivation of closed accounts, obtaining one-time soft token for online transaction, issuance of mandatory monthly statement of accounts, withdrawal from your bank’s ATM attract no charges.

Credit or debit card’s issuance, replacement, renewal attract the sum of N1000 respectively, irrespective of whether the card is regular or premium, whereas withdrawal from other bank’s ATM attracts N65 only after the third withdrawal in a month. Card maintenance fee is N50 monthly for Naira debit/credit card and N20 per annum for foreign currency denominated debit/credit cards. Where you are using electronic funds transfer, only a service fee of N50 is required for transactions below and above N10, 000. To procure a hard ware token, a maximum charge of N3,500 is expected of the billing bank, while the cost of paying bills through an online channel is 0.75% of transaction value but no more than N1,200 in any case.

When Your Money is Trapped In ATMs, Banks Are Obliged To Return It To You.

If you have had the experience of ATMs dispensing lesser amount of money than you had requested or the ATM did not dispense any money at all but the bank still went ahead to debit your account, you may not have to worry. The Central Bank of Nigeria, through its Circular, BPS/DIR/CIR/01/008 of June 16, 2014 has directed banks to return all money in their possession as a result of the ATMs non-dispensing or partial dispensing error.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.