Many bank customers were left stranded during holiday period as Automated Teller Machines of banks ran out of cash in most parts of Lagos. ATMs of most of the banks visited by Leadership in some parts of Lagos were not dispensing cash as at yesterday and customers were advised to make use of other ATMs or use electronic channels.
However, the electronic channels of some of the banks also had challenges as transfers took longer period to be effected while some customers complained that they have not been able to do transfer.
A customer of a top tier bank told Leadership that she had made a transfer on Friday morning her account debited but the recipient was yet to be credited as at yesterday. “They said we should go cashless, and I made transfer but it did not go, now I don’t have enough to pay the person because my account has been debited and I have to wait till Tuesday to complain,” the customer who declined to give her name said.
Also a customer of another top tier bank said “I don’t trust all these electronic channels not to hang in this period. Moreover I need cash to buy things and I still cannot even get it from the ATM.” Liquidity had dried up in the banking sector last week after banks participated in the bond auction of the Debt Management Office as well as dollar sales earlier in the week.
Overnight lending rates at the interbank market had risen to over 300 per cent last week and banks were not able to buy dollar off the Central Bank of Nigeria at the second dollar sales held by the apex bank.