…as banks slash customers withdrawal limit
Residents of Ibadan have expressed their frustration after being unable to withdraw cash for transactions due to refusal by banks to load Automated Teller Machines (ATM).
Investigations also revealed that commercial banks slashed customers withdrawal limits ahead of Christmas and New Year.
Many customers complained that they could not withdraw the amount they needed over the counter due to a lack of adequate cash on the part of the banks in most parts of Ibadan metropolis.
The situation was made worse on weekend when all the ATMs visited were not dispensing due to failure of banks to load the machines with cash.
At Dugbe, Ibadan business hub, Wema bank, Access Bank, United Bank for Africa, Sterling Bank, First Bank and others have their ATMS shut, as customers expressed frustration over the failure of the banks to load cash in their machines.
According to the customers, the bank officials asked them to use alternative channels to carry out their outstanding transactions.
It was also observed that many banks were operating without adequate cash to meet their numerous customers’ needs.
Some customers were told that they can only have access to cash ranging from N50,000 to N20,000 respectively.
At Apata Ibadan branch of Access Bank which was the only bank dispensing cash through its ATM at the weekend, there were long queues of customers at the Automated Teller Machines points(ATMs) .
The development, it was learnt, affected several operators of Point-of-sale businesses who could not withdraw enough cash from the banks and the ATMs to run their businesses properly.
Some of the customers observed that the problem had started since last week.
One of the bank officials in Mokola, Ibadan who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the shortage of cash, saying it was due to the cash supply from the CBN.
“What we have resorted to doing is to encourage our customers to use alternative channels and give them the little we have on the ground. Currently, we are at the end of the year. The demand is huge and we have to balance it. The CBN hasn’t been giving us enough cash in recent times especially since the surge in demand started some weeks ago”, she said.
