COVID-19: Customers switch to POS as delay, long queues become norm in banks

COVID-19 came with a lot of rules, such as the use of face masks, sanitising and social distancing rules which have affected schools, businesses and also banks. FAITH ADEOYE and ENIOLA OYEMOLADE write on how many people have, as a result of overcrowding in banks, turned to the use of Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminals for withdrawals and deposits.

TROUBLED Oladimeji Dayo, who had come from Olomi in Ibadan, to fix the Biometric Verification Number (BVN) issue which had restricted him from withdrawing the money he needed urgently, sat hopelessly at a new generation bank in Challenge, Ibadan.

Oladimeji, who said he had waited outside the bank for over five hours when Nigerian Tribune visited the bank, recounted his experience.

He explained how he had tried to use the bank for three days but all to no avail. Thinking he had been approached by someone who could help, he kept screaming, “Please help me beg them, I have been waiting since 8:00 am. I really need to use my money.”

Just like Oladimeji, many who had been trying to use the bank since the COVID-19 lockdown was eased in Nigeria, have had similar experience.

The COVID-19 pandemic has so reshaped almost all aspects of life, including economy, that even a simple thing such as visiting a bank has become something to brace up for.

On March 29, President Muhammadu Buhari announced the initial lockdown of Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, — the three major places which were first hit hard by the COVID-19 tornado — while other states enforced their versions of lockdown. People were asked to stay at home and follow the COVID-19 guidelines to avoid the risk of infection and transmission.

Nobody was prepared for it; banks refused to open to customers, people were advised to use their mobile banking applications for transactions and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) to make withdrawals. The ones with other issues that required them to be present in a bank weren’t attended to.

And on April 27, when the president announced a phased and gradual easing of the lockdown, banks opened their doors to customers. From May 4 to date, all bank premises have become a wars zone, literally. Customers storm the banks daily, staying on long queues for hours. Determined to have access to their account, some even flout the social distancing rule and other COVID-19 guidelines.

People who want to make withdrawals using ATMs have to wait on long queues and most of these machines have little or no cash supply.

On Monday, August 3, 2020, Nigerian Tribune visited some new generation banks and observed that nothing had changed since May 4 and these banks still have a large percentage of the people who were trying to sort out one issue or the other.

Similoluwa Agunbiade, who spoke with Nigerian Tribune, lamented how the security personnel attached to the bank she visited only allowed executive customers into the bank.

“I arrived at the bank around 6:30am and didn’t leave until 3 pm. The security man was allowing big men and women whose names were not on the list to enter into the bank and he left those of us the small men/women outside and claimed they are executive customers,” she said.

Another customer, Mr James, explained how he got to the bank at 7:00 am to see a customer care representative, only to discover he was number 239 on a list prepared to make for ease of access into the banking hall.

“I wrote my name on the list and I discovered that there were other 238 people trying to enter the bank. I waited for over six hours and I wasn’t attended to but was asked to return the next day,” he said.

Mr Eniola also explained how he got to the bank at 6:00 am to request for a new ATM card after his previous card was trapped in the machine during the lockdown. He discovered that the bank could not attend to more than 60 people in a day and had to return much earlier the next day.

PoS to the rescue

AS a result of these issues, people have tried several means to avoid these long queues at the banks. One of them is the use of Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminals for withdrawals and deposits.

The PoS was introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2012 to further drive home its cashless policy aimed at enhancing Nigeria’s payment system. This drive, analysts say, was geared towards reducing the amount of cash used for business but not to eliminate cash usage.

The apex bank had, a year earlier, released the PoS guidelines which stated that “PoS terminal owners should include banks, merchants, acquirers, Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) and Payment Terminal Service Providers (PTSPs).”

However, in recent times, the PoS has been used to withdraw money and deposit money into accounts.

For Thomas Alao, who rarely goes to banks for transactions, PoS has been an invaluable substitute. “Whenever I want to make withdrawals or deposits, I don’t even go to the bank anymore because I cannot stand the queue”, he said. “Although I pay extra charges, I don’t mind. I prefer that to standing for long hours inside or outside the bank.”

But many Nigerians are not like Alao who does not mind the charges. There are still people who find the charges outrageous. This has raised questions in some quarters on the legality of the transaction-induced charges.

According to Seyi (surname withheld), the Customer Relationship Manager in one of the new generation banks, PoS is legal in Nigeria and whatever charge collected is based on the personal decision of the merchant. And for any bank to give out PoS to anyone, such a person must have an account with the bank.

“After opening the account, such a person can then make their intentions known about wanting a PoS. The bank will ask the customer what type of business is being run; maybe a supermarket or a store, then the processing starts. When the PoS terminal is ready, they call the customer.”

The experiences of some customers have not been all juicy. Some have really been sour just like that of Lawal Hadijat, who stood with her two children clasped to her aging orange coloured blouse outside a bank as the  rays of the sun danced on her ebony black skin. Hadijat patiently waited for her turn so she could make cash withdrawal from an ATM.

“I came to the bank yesterday to withdraw but I was not able to because the ATM stopped dispensing cash. In fact, I left here around 8p.m. I’ve been here again today for four hours and the queue is too long. Hopefully, I will be able to get money today.

“I would have used the PoS, but I have sworn never to use it again because the last time I did, I was debited and till now, I have not been credited. So I will rather wait here.”

Same is the case for Mrs Alabi, who has also had her fair share of the PoS troubles.

She said “I was also debited but did not get my money till now. I had to come to the bank to fill a form and they told me they will fix the issue within five working days. That was the last time I used the PoS.”

However, Seyi said: “It is the same way you get debited sometimes and you don’t get your money when you use an ATM. It happens as a result of network hitch, just like you making a call and you don’t hear what the other person is saying. When that happens, just go to your bank, make a complaint and fill a form and the bank will sort it out for reversal of funds.”

To make sure the PoS terminals don’t get into the wrong hands as well, she said: “before we deploy any PoS terminal to anybody, it has to be someone we know. We also make use of Know Your Customer (KYC) where we know everything about them; their location, phone numbers, home addresses, and so on.”

Kudirat, one of the PoS service operators at Oke-Ado Road, Ibadan, noted that business boomed since the social distancing rule became compulsory.

“Before COVID-19, people were not really patronising us, maybe because they did not trust us. But ever since COVID-19 happened, people will rather come here to make withdrawals and deposits than stay long hours in the bank.

“However, network issues can be a challenge. A customer can get debited twice as a result of the network, and rather than exercise patience, some of them get angry and even threaten to beat me up. But sometimes, the money is reversed to the customer and other times, they have to go to their banks to make complaints.

“For us here, on every N5,000 you withdraw, we collect N100 hundred Naira. Same goes for deposits and business has been okay.”

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