Stakeholders in the e-payment space have commended the reintroduction of N65 inter-bank Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) charge while cautioning the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) against undue interference in the operation of ATMs by banks.
This is coming as banks in the country have continued to invest more in the acquisition of ATMs with the purchase of nearly 3,000 money machines worth over $58million in the last eight months.
But James Agada, chief technology officer, Computer Warehouse Group, a company that sells and deploys Wincor Nixdorf brand of ATM, said that CBN does not have any business determining inter-bank ATM withdrawal fee for the banks as the regulator is not assisting the banks in offsetting the cost of running the ATMs.
He blamed inconsistence and interference by the CBN in the operation of ATM as the reasons why third party investors are shying away from rolling out ATMs in the country unlike the case in Europe and America.
Onajite Regha, executive secretary/CEO, E-Payment Providers Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN), said that: “though it may be called a policy reversal, somersault, or any other of the clichés that it has been described with, but the truth is that it was something we saw coming. ATM management is cost intensive right from purchase to maintenance of the machine. The idea to make it cost free to the consumer was great but unsustainable in the long term.
“The zero payment by consumers did not mean “no payments” for the payment stakeholders. It only meant that the issuer of the card would carry the cost for the holder. This could eventually discourage further investments on ATMs and then the consumers will suffer on the long run. But the emphasis now should be on the alternatives. People should limit withdrawing cash from the ATMs that is not cashless. The ATMs do much more than cash withdrawal. They should concentrate on the other payment alternatives such as PoS, internet, mobile etc. The banks will still bear about N195 per card in a month for all its card holders. “I believe this is to encourage financial inclusion,” she noted.
Meanwhile, banks in the country have invested some $58million in the purchase of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) deployed across the country at both offsite and banking premises in eight months.
Investigations revealed that the number of active ATMs performing transactions across the country at bank branches, hotels and airports stood 15,000 as at the end of June this year.
This means that some 2,900 money machines were added to the about 12,100 as at the end of October last year.
The costs of ATMs are determined by their functionalities which include, mono-functional, cashless and multi-functional ATMs.