A week after the decision of the Bankers’ Committee to stop inter-bank automated teller machine (ATM) charges,  investigations have revealed that some of the banks still charge customers for inter-bank ATM use.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has however indicated her resolve to monitor compliance while Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) said the removal of charges would deepen the market.

But bank customers who spoke to our correspondent find it hard to believe that banks find it difficult to comply with the new directive, after it was unanimously agreed by their directors.

Steven Onifade, a bank customer said he was happy when he heard the cheering news of the scrapped inter-bank ATM charges, only to use his card at another bank’s ATM and N10 was deducted from his account.

Another respondent who craved anonymity said, the clause ‘this transaction attracts N100, do you wish to continue, ’ought to be removed since all the banks are now at par.

The respondent said the greed by the issuing banks to get a N25 share from the N100, was responsible for their non compliance.

Reaching out to the banks for their reactions to the allegations, our reporter was asked to send e-mails, which are yet to be responded to at the time of filling this report.

But Ugo Okoroafor, director, Corporate Affairs, CBN said the apex bank would continue to remind the banks to honour their decision and encourage them to abide by it in the interest of the customers.

He said that the decision by the bankers’ committee was a welcome development as the directive was not directly from the CBN but “they thought it wise to scrap the charges.”

Going by the complaints of the numerous bank customers on non-compliance of some banks with the directive, the CBN spokesman said the apex bank would deploy examiners to monitor compliance with the directive.

Elsewhere, Umaru Ibrahim, managing director, NDIC said the decision to stop the charge would increase the patronage of ATMs and deepen the financial inclusion strategy.

He listed the other projects meant to promote financial inclusion to include the cash-less policy designed to bring low-cost, secure and convenient financial services to urban, semi-urban and rural areas in the country.

Ibrahim called for the promotion of all-women microfinance banks, adding that evidence from other countries indicate that such institutions have the potential to promote easy access to credit among rural women, especially at the group levels.

He said the platform could also be used to mobilise more funds from the group.

Ibrahim  said out of the total number of provisional and final microfinance bank licences issued by the CBN, the north, including Federal Capital Territory had only 24.75 per cent, and therefore called on the state governments in the region to establish more grassroots banks.

According to him, financial inclusion, alternatively characterised as ‘access to finance’ has been defined as ‘universal access at reasonable cost, to a wide range of financial services to everyone needing them, provided by a diversity of sound and sustainable institutions.’

He said the CBN and NDIC have and uphill task in improving financial inclusion given the relatively low level of penetration of financial services in the country.

The NDIC boss said the rising trend in bank customers’ complaints is a source of worry to the regulators.

He said such complaints arising mainly because of poor customer service, high bank tariffs, frauds and forgeries as well as bank distress could threaten confidence in the banking system.

Ibrahim said banks are aware of whom their customers are but many of them do not appreciate the need to determine their expectations and how to manage them.

“The inability to manage customers coupled with the serious corporate governance issues could explain the high frequency of complaints among bank customers in Nigeria. To determine the causes of customer complaints and design appropriate strategies for preventing and controlling it, the need to determine customer expectations and how to effectively manage them cannot be over emphasised,” he said.