Banks Begin Cash Reversal on ATMs

Most money deposit banks in the country have begun immediate cash reversals of uncompleted transactions on their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and customers are happy about it, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek has learnt.

Uncompleted transactions on ATMs occur due to system malfunction; insufficient funds on the cash machine; and network failure among others.

Before now, the reversal was for intra-bank transactions only.

For uncompleted inter-bank transactions where a card user goes to another bank other than his own to cash money, the process is lengthy requiring him to lodge complaints, fill a form and wait out for days before the transaction is reversed.

Visits to most banks’ ATM at the weekend however showed that reversal is now effected irrespective of intra-bank or inter-bank transactions.

Mr. Chukwudi Anyanwu a customer of Zenith bank expressed joy when he narrated how his cash was reversed when he used UBA plc ATM on Idowu Taylor Street on Victoria Island to make withdrawal and his account was debited and cash not dispensed.

He said before he could enter the bank to lodge a complaint he got an alert indicating a reversal of the amount.

Mrs. Peju Olowora, a customer of First Bank corroborated Anyanwu and said her uncompleted transactions were reversed.

Chuma Ezirim, head, e-Business, First Bank, explained that none reversal of uncompleted transactions on ATM is a question of the bank’s information technology platform which also include communications problems.

Ezirim said that ideally, when an ATM debits a customer and did not pay, the ATM will notify the bank system of the failure which should automatically trigger a reversal if the cash retraction function of the ATM is enabled.