Nigeria’s FinTech And The Untold Story of ATM

In Nigeria coupled with other developing nations, the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) has hitherto been conspicuously giving its teeming users a nightmare, that, a drastic approach is seriously required by the apt authorities towards tactically addressing the quagmire.

Without equivocations, the conundrum – pertaining to Financial Technology (FinTech) – possesses the tendency of constituting a colossal economic mayhem to the totality of contemporary Nigerian society, particularly the banking sector.

Tremendous effort needs to be put in place regarding the existing use of ATMs in the acclaimed giant of Africa. There’s a compelling need for greater accurate and efficient technical know-how in the country’s banking industry as regards the operation of the said device.

Technical irregularities or hitches such as out of service, temporarily unable to dispense cash, issuer or switch inoperative, and unreasonable seizing/withholding of transaction cards, among others, which are often encountered while using the machine, must be addressed headlong.

The ridiculous technical anomalies to include debiting an account without any withdrawal made by the owner, is the most devastating aspect of the ongoing ATM lapses in Nigeria and her likes. This implies the country is yet to fully key into FinTech.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which serves as the mother-bank of all commercial banks in the country, is expected to intervene especially at this period we are suffering from an enormous economic crisis. Hence, enabling policies ought to be aptly implemented into the sector for healthier banking practices.

The teeming bank account owners have suffered greatly, thus are in need of the onward intervention of the apex bank towards ensuring the country’s dream of seeing an arena filled with thorough cashless banking is duly actualized in the nearest future.

Among all, the routine of loading torn or mutilated currency notes in the ATMs must be put to stop by the CBN. How could notes meant to be burnt or replaced be loaded in the machines? This unethical practice invariably create an avenue for frequent circulation of eyesores?

The anomaly has ostensibly informed the general public that the Nigeria’s Mint and Printing section is incapacitated. This sums up the fact that her technology is unarguably in a sorry state.

The remedy to Nigeria’s tech issues lies in her hand, hence has all it takes to fix the hitch. The concerned authorities, therefore, must wake up to the realities rather than chasing shadows.

The various branches that are currently making use of only one ATM must as a matter of urgency install at least two or more ones in order to decongest the banking premises with a view to curtailing the chances of being invaded or attacked by armed robbers. Armed robbery is an unlawful activity that has remained the biggest challenge faced by the banking industry, thus ought to be checked at all cost.

The banks ought to equally, from time to time, update the softwares used for the said machines as well as their central server. It is appalling to realize that most of them are still making use of outdated or trivial softwares. It’s unequivocally high time this mediocre practice is jettisoned.

Against this backdrop, every bank is expected to see its Information Technology (IT) unit as one of the most needed units in the firm, so its viability would be sustained by all means. Such a step would enable the bank to at all times ensure that employing or engaging competent and reliable IT professionals, either as full staff or consultants, as the case may be, isn’t compromised.

It’s pertinent to note that most of these challenges are usually occasioned by ignorance on the part of the bearers of the ATM cards. Most users of the card in question are yet to acknowledge that the card is not meant to be kept close to electronic devices or any device that possesses a magnetic field such as the radio set, television, handset, computers, laptop, home theatre, speakers, VCD/DVD, or what have you, especially when they are on or in use. A practice of such is liable to permanently stop the activeness of the affected card.

Similarly, the users are meant to comprehend that the cards are meant to be safeguarded from any iota of scratch or drop of water, particularly on its silver-coated part. Hence, it must be consistently kept away from any metal element, or related materials, that could hurt their surfaces. They should also be kept away from rainfall and allied natural substances.

Inter alia, if any part of the card bends, the bearer or owner may not be able to have access to his or her account via the ATM. If anyone eventually succeeded in doing so, he or she might not be able to retrieve the card from the machine after the transaction. This is a phenomenon the bearers must be meant to acknowledge.

To this end, the banks’ Customer Service units are required to duly orientate their clients the moment they pick the cards as well as ensure they are regularly sensitized in this regard. They ought to be meant to understand that the debit/credit cards are to be thoroughly pampered in order to keep them away from any possible harm.

The IT department of every bank, therefore, ought to invariably take this coaching aspect as priority. The orientation session concerning the use of the ATM cards is required to be organized by every bank branch on a regular basis toward averting any possible embarrassment that might befall the users.

The CBN, or the mother bank of any concerned country, really needs to take an urgent and severe step with a view to ending the various lingering irregularities faced or practised by the commercial banks in regard to the use of the ATM.

It’s noteworthy that failure to do the needful would give the lingering technical menace a chance to constitute an unbearable setback in the nearest future in the country’s financial industry at large.

Those days, FinTech – which is primarily the use of technology across all financial functions – was mainly used for back-office activities by leveraging software to help bank personnel handle accounts, execute transactions, and manage client databases, among others.

But nowadays, the said tech measure has transformed how banks operate. It’s not anymore relegated to the gloomy corners of back offices. It has, therefore, taken centre stage by making itself indispensable to client-facing processes. Now, every needed digital transaction is possible.

So, rather than being mere onlookers of this haven, we as a people need to key in towards enjoying the innumerable benefits attached therein. It’s high time we did the needful.

Lest I forget; aside from inculcating the required tech measures, the government or relevant authority must create formidable and apt policies to facilitate the proposed move. The needed policies shall serve as the wheel while the required tech approach would be the vehicle to convey the passengers to the destination. Mind you, a vehicle with a bad wheel can’t move an inch.

The role of mobility in the FinTech revolution cannot be overemphasized. Hence, the financial institutions needn’t be reminded of the need to, in earnest, key into the proposed measure.