AKOREDE FOGOBank customers in Ota, Ogun State are currently facing herculean task before they could get access to their hard earned money as cash crunch hits major banks around the area.
BUSINESSinsiderng visits to First City Monument Bank (FB), Guarantee Trust Bank (GT Bank), United Bank For Africa (UBA), Access Bank, First bank and Zenith Bank during the festive period discovered that customers were struggling to get their money through the banks’ Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) at Sango and idiroko road
Howevee, due to this cash crunch in the ATMs and surge in demand for more cash by bank customers Point of Sale (POS) operators, therefore, increased their N100 withdrawal charges for N5,000 cash to N200.
It was gathered that after customers moved from one Automated Teller Machine to another looking for where to withdraw as the ATMs remained empty, and the few ones with cash were besieged by desperate customers, they had to resort to POS merchants who, however, introduced exploitative charges.
Findings across bank branches in some areas of the state revealed that many customers could not withdraw the total amount they needed over the counter due to lack of adequate amount of cash on the part of the banks.
The development, it was learnt, affected several operators of Point of Sale business who could not withdraw enough cash from the banks and the ATMs to run their businesses properly.
A POS operator at Oju-Ore area of the city said the upward review of withdrawal charges was due to the difficulties in getting cash from banks.
“It has become so difficult to get cash from ATMs, and even inside the banking hall as the available cash is being rationed. If you planned to withdraw N200,000 for instance, they will say you can only get N100,000.”
Another POS operator in Atan, Kunle Olayinka Eleja said, “I visited First Bank at Sango, Indomie and Gtbank branches at Oju-ore and Sango to collect N300,000 recently but I could not do so. Also, FCMB officials said they could give me only N100,000. Gtbank also claimed they could give me only N150,000.
He said the two banks claimed there wasn’t enough cash and subsequently advised me to use alternative channels to do my remaining transaction.