Mr. Donald Aigbe walked into his Access bank Ikotun branch yesterday to withdraw the sum of N25,000 to pay his son's school fees. He was told of a challenge with the server. He waited hours on end for the server to return from its trek to a meeting of servers somewhere till late in the afternoon. He and many others were unable to get their cash withdrawals. Several other customers had similar challenges in branches of the bank since their acquisition of Intercontinental Bank Plc. At some time during the day, Access bank ATMs began functioning but were uncharacteristically slow at paying customers of both banks.
The ordeal is worse for customers of Oceanic and Ecobanks since the acquisition by the later. At the weekend, most branches of the banks were shut to customers making withdrawals and in some branches, not opened at all.
The challenge is caused by the need to integrate and merge two different databases into one. IT experts believe it is a daunting task considering the banks operated two different platforms before the commencement date and as such integration hiccups were bound to prevent the seamless operation customers expect of 21st century banks.
Before now, there are always challenges from time to time with several banks in Nigeria having 'server or network' challenges that prevent customers from withdrawing cash. The Central Bank of Nigeria began a cashless policy or limited cash policy as it were from March this year. With Nigerians yet to come to terms with using ATMs effectively, there is little sense in rushing the country into such an era. More importantly, how does one make payments when server or network challenges are always a predominant challenge?
The merger and or acquisition of financial institutions in Nigeria should be with careful intent not to disrupt the activities or use up the time of hapless customers who already suffer untold difficulties for using commercial banks. Banks in Nigeria are known to advertise several juicy services and then deliver something very different. A query on why this is the trend will see the banks come up with the same answer: the high cost of doing business in Nigeria.
It will be advised great care be taken to ensure that server problems and or network issues do not ever creep up to prevent or bar Nigerians from getting and accessing their funds whether in cash or electronically. The financial regulator, the CBN should provide a framework to ensure that in the case of future mergers, that customers are not the ones who pay the penalty for a failure of a bank's management.
What is wrong if Intercontinental Bank had continued to operate alongside Access Bank until a new integrated database that is free of all encumbrance is created and deployed by both banks? There are many others like Mr. Aigbe who were in a more critical situation like medical emergencies for instance. What would the banks and the regulators expect them to do if they were in a medical emergency? Ultimately, the Nigerian people should not be subjected to untold delays because they are trying to get their money.
The ordeal is worse for customers of Oceanic and Ecobanks since the acquisition by the later. At the weekend, most branches of the banks were shut to customers making withdrawals and in some branches, not opened at all.
The challenge is caused by the need to integrate and merge two different databases into one. IT experts believe it is a daunting task considering the banks operated two different platforms before the commencement date and as such integration hiccups were bound to prevent the seamless operation customers expect of 21st century banks.
Before now, there are always challenges from time to time with several banks in Nigeria having 'server or network' challenges that prevent customers from withdrawing cash. The Central Bank of Nigeria began a cashless policy or limited cash policy as it were from March this year. With Nigerians yet to come to terms with using ATMs effectively, there is little sense in rushing the country into such an era. More importantly, how does one make payments when server or network challenges are always a predominant challenge?
The merger and or acquisition of financial institutions in Nigeria should be with careful intent not to disrupt the activities or use up the time of hapless customers who already suffer untold difficulties for using commercial banks. Banks in Nigeria are known to advertise several juicy services and then deliver something very different. A query on why this is the trend will see the banks come up with the same answer: the high cost of doing business in Nigeria.
It will be advised great care be taken to ensure that server problems and or network issues do not ever creep up to prevent or bar Nigerians from getting and accessing their funds whether in cash or electronically. The financial regulator, the CBN should provide a framework to ensure that in the case of future mergers, that customers are not the ones who pay the penalty for a failure of a bank's management.
What is wrong if Intercontinental Bank had continued to operate alongside Access Bank until a new integrated database that is free of all encumbrance is created and deployed by both banks? There are many others like Mr. Aigbe who were in a more critical situation like medical emergencies for instance. What would the banks and the regulators expect them to do if they were in a medical emergency? Ultimately, the Nigerian people should not be subjected to untold delays because they are trying to get their money.
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