The Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks, ACAMB, has stated that banks are not in any way hoarding or holding back naira notes or engaging in any act inimical to customers.
ACAMB faulted the claims that banks are hoarding the new naira notes but expressed optimism that the scarcity of the currency would end soonest.
ACAMB President Rasheed Bolarinwa in a statement stated that: “ATMs are being loaded every day and cash is being paid as provided by the CBN, as regularly being checked by CBN Inspectors and other regulators including anti-graft agencies.”
While reiterating its support for the CBN’s cashless policy, ACAMB noted that banks have in the past weeks rolled out extra measures to ease the flow of naira notes.
“These measures, among others, include deployment of extra technical supports for online payments, additional security at ATMs to ensure all-clock usage, technological back-up to reduce online downtime to the barest minimum, additional staff deployment to counters to attend to cash transactions and timely interbank and inter-branch networking to bridge any gap,” the statement added.
“We are confident that these measures, in addition to efforts by the regulatory CBN, will result in greater ease of access and cash liquidity. The Federal Government and the CBN have reiterated similar readiness to address any constraint in the cyclical flow, including making adjustments, where necessary.”
ACAMB is however, calling on the “Nigerian banking public to exercise patience and not to resort to any untoward behavior against bank staff or banking facilities”.
He noted that the Nigerian Banks have invested an estimated total sum in excess of N100 billion in setting up and maintaining cutting-edge electronic channels over the past few years as part of ongoing commitment to seamless customer experience and real time digital financial transactions. From internet banking to mobile apps, Automated Teller Machines, ATMs, Point of Sales, PoS, merchants, mobile wallets, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, USSD, codes, agents and digital franchises among others; not less than 80 per cent of Nigerians now enjoy one form of digital or cashless transaction or another, powered by investments by Nigerian Banks.
