A major complaint by consumers of banking services in Nigeria is the multiplicity of charges being levied on transactions. Some of such charges are questionable and against regulatory instructions.
Consumertrics findings reveal a preponderance of bank customers is unhappy with the reality but often fail to ask questions, or lodge a complaint in situations of illegal deductions. Some of the causes of this consumer protection issue include ineffective and cumbersome redress system, and the low level of financial literacy among the banking population.
Customers’ poor knowledge of essential banking information and also of their rights and obligations are some of the reasons unethical practices by banks persist.
This article serves as a guide to bank customers on payable charges especially on electronic banking, based on the released guidelines by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
| Current Account Maintenance Fee (CAMF) Applicable to current accounts ONLY in respect of customer-induced debit transactions to third parties and debit transfers/lodgments to the customer’s account in another bank. |
Negotiable subject to a maximum of N1 per mille ( per one thousand) |
| Hardware Token | Cost recovery subject to a maximum charge of N2,500 |
| Software Token – One Time Password (OTP) |
No charge. However, where the OTP is sent to the customer via SMS, charges will be on cost recovery basi |
| Hardware Token replacement |
Cost recovery subject to a maximum of N2,500. (Customer to bear cost only in the event of physical damage, loss of token or replacement after expiration) |
| Bills Payment (Including Bills Payment through other E-channels) |
| Bills Payment (Including Bills Payment through other E-channels) |
Negotiable subject to a maximum of N500 per beneficiary payable by the sender
|
| Electronic Funds Transfer | Below N5,000 – N10
N5,001 – N50,000 – N25 Above N50,000 – N50 |
| Card Maintenance Fee:
Foreign Currency |
$10 p.a. (or its equivalent
|
| Naira Debit/Credit Card |
Cards linked to current account- No charge Cards linked to savings accounts- maximum of N50 quarterly maintenance fee |
| Credit Card Charges:
Issuance Fee |
N1,000 (one-off charge). The same charge applies irrespective of card type (i.e. regular or premium card |
| Remote-On-Us (from other bank’s ATM) in Nigeria |
maximum of N35 after the third withdrawal within the same month |
| 2 Replacement Fee (at customer’s instance for lost or damaged cards) |
N1,000 (one-off charge). The same charge applies irrespective of card type (i.e. regular or premium card |
| Renewal Fee (upon expiry of existing cards) |
N1,000 (one-off charge). The same charge applies irrespective of card type (i.e. regular or premium card) |
| Prepaid Card Loading/Unloading |
No charge |
| ATM Transactions:
On-Us (withdrawal Not On-Us (withdrawal |
N35 after the third withdrawal within the same month |
| International Withdrawals (per transaction) transaction) whether debit/credit car |
Exact cost by international acquirer (cost recovery) |
| Merchant Service Commission (MSC) General Merchant (Including Domestic, International Travels and Entertainment) |
0.50% of transaction value but not more than N1,000 |
| SMS alert (Mandatory) However, where a customer opts not to receive SMS alert, the customer should issue an indemnity (for losses that may arise as a result) to the bank. |
Cost recovery (on customer-induced transactions) No charge (for bank-induced transactions) |
| Use of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) |
Current NIP charges apply |
| Special Request for Statement of Account (request in a manner other than agreed on mandatory issuance___________________________________Special Request for Statement of Account (request in a manner other than agreed on mandatory issuance |
Maximum of N20 per page
__________________________________ Maximum of N20 per page |
See other charges here
Very detailed !
This article geared at enlightening the banking populace, is indeed apt. It will definitely boraden our knowledge on how to cub bank excesses especially in areas where we’ve always had shallow knowledge.