The Consumer Advocacy Foundation of
Nigeria (CAFON), a non-profit making organisation has concluded
arrangement to boycott banking services from today owing to what they
described as arbitrary charges by commercial banks.
The group had highlighted the recently
introduced stamp duty fee, account maintenance fee as some of the
reasons for the protest.
According to CAFON founder, Sola Salako,
the boycott, tagged: “No Banking Day,” was aimed at expressing
Nigerians’ anger over outrageous charges on deposits, transfers and
withdrawals. Salako is asking Nigerians to stay away from the banks
today and to shun any transactions either on the counter or online with
any bank.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
recently urged bank customers to report illegal and excessive charges by
their banks to it (CBN). The apex regulator gave the advice in a
statement titled: “Alleged Excess, Illegal Charges by Deposit Money
Banks.”
According to the central bank, it had
received a series of complaints from bank customers alleging excessive
and, in some cases, illegal charges from their respective banks. It
pointed out that the Revised Guide to Bank Charges clearly specifies
allowable charges for all banking services and the CBN does not in any
way condone the fleecing of banking customers under any guise.
“It was in the quest to provide a strong
voice to banks’ customers and moderate the arbitrary charges that the
CBN in 2012, established its Consumer Protection Department. For the
avoidance of doubt, the CBN has investigated over 6000 complaints
relating to unauthorised bank charges brought to its notice, following
which banks have been compelled to refund the sum of over N6.2 billion
to affected customers in 2015 alone.
“The CBN wishes to reiterate its resolve
to continuously enforce the provision of the Revised Guide to Bank
Charges and urges members of the public to report cases of infringement
to enable it investigate and apply sanctions on any erring deposit money
bank,” it added.
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