In Nigeria, commercial banks deduct various charges from transactions, including the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), SMS alert fees, stamp duty, transfer fees, and card maintenance charges. On the other hand, point-of-sale (POS) operators charge customers ₦100 or more based on the transaction amount. POS charges are capped at 1.25% of the transaction value.
The bank operators attribute the hike to the ₦50 electronic money transfer levy imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on transactions of ₦10,000 or above. However, people argue that the charges deducted by banks and POS operators are too high.
While speaking with Agidigbo FM news correspondents, people in Ibadan shared their perspectives on how bank and POS transactions have become more expensive.
A POS operator, Mr. Olamilekan Ajayi, lamented that the charges deducted by banks are high, coupled with an increase in network data subscription rates. He said he is discouraged from continuing business because he is running at a loss.
A market woman, Mrs. Deaconess M.O. Babalola, stated that bank charges and POS charges significantly affect the business of many market men and women. She emphasized that the government seems intentional about keeping people poor.
On the contrary, a retired civil servant, Mr. Okegbenro Samson, said he prefers using POS because there is no bank in his vicinity, and for swift response and convenience. Addressing the new bank rate, Mr. Okegbenro said he is fine with the new policy, stressing that due to the bank charges, ATMs now have fewer people in the queue compared to before.
Consumers in Nigeria are facing higher charges for cash withdrawals from POS operators and banks following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) latest adjustment of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) withdrawal fees. Many Nigerians find the withdrawal fee increase burdensome, especially amid financial struggles in an already harsh economy. However, Nigerians are calling for concrete policy actions from the government to address the transaction fee issues.
