Kwara POS operators hike charges on cash withdrawals

Point of Sale machine operators in Ilorin, Kwara State have increased the charges on cash withdrawals by customers.

A cash withdrawal of N10,000, now attracts N1,000 commission, while N5,000 also attracts the same charge of N1,000, however, some operators charge N500.

Customers of banks in Ilorin formed long queues both at the ATM points and the banking halls to swap their old naira currency notes for the redesigned currencies.

Complaints have also trailed the exchange exercise as customers have continuously found it difficult to cash their money over the counter and from ATMs, most of which still dispense the old naira notes.

The inability of bank customers and residents of the state capital to get the new naira notes has affected business transactions as traders insist on collecting the new currencies instead of cash transfers in some cases.

Visits to major banks in the Ilorin metropolis on Friday indicated that customers were going through the same experience with anger.

Sheriff Adeniyi, a bank customer in a chat with newsmen in Ilorin said humans are selfish beings referring to operators of POS for imposing high charges on customers.

“If you want to buy things now, it is difficult with old naira notes, I can understand that the government is inching toward a cashless economy, which is good but painful and we have to start from somewhere.”

Another customer, Saliu Kazeem, lauded the cashless policy of the Federal Government which he explained will help Nigerians in the end.

He, however, faulted the deadline given by the government and suggested that it adopts a gradual phase-out of the old currencies.

Saliu also sympathized with people in the local government areas of the state, particularly where there are no banking services, asking how they will go about the exchange.

Efforts to reach bank officials failed at the time of filing this report.