The crisis surrounding the Nigerian naira has caused difficulties for individuals and organizations alike. The recent cash shortage almost caused Nigeria’s economy to collapse, resulting in nationwide protests. As a result, customers have increasingly turned to mobile money platforms, causing a boom in the fintech industry.
Unfortunately, traditional banks have not been able to keep up with the surge in digital banking, leading to overwhelmed platforms and frustrated customers.
With angry customers protesting their inability to withdraw money, banks have been forced to close their doors. Automated teller machines were disabled and over-the-counter operations were non-existent, leaving banks’ digital platforms stretched thin. Digital banking services became increasingly erratic, causing transfers that usually take minutes to take days instead.
For instance, Adedeji Owonibi, Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Convexity, told NEWSEDUP about a payment he made through a digital banking platform that did not deliver after about a week.
In response to the increased thwarted transactions in their apps, banks have drafted more personnel to customer services to attend to customers’ complaints. However, banks were already having issues before the naira crisis. some of them have lost their best members of staff to ‘japa’ syndrome (local slang for migration).
The naira crisis has brought to a header the lack of qualified IT manpower in the banking sector, with many of them having migrated to developed economies.
According to Seun Kuti-George, Vice President of the Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists, “Although the migration to online payment is possible, limitations from service glitches are matters of huge concern. What is worsening the situation is the technical issues accompanying the new means of payment, which is transfer.”
He goes on to explain how these issues can affect business transactions and cause delays in payments.
Additionally, an anonymous source at the United Bank for Africa blames the network glitches on enormous online payment traffic, while another anonymous official at Access Bank suggests that when banking apps do not work, it could be a problem with the customer’s network service provider.
However, if such issues persist for more than one day, it might be a significant problem that only a visit to the bank can solve.
Overall, the naira crisis has caused a significant increase in the use of mobile money platforms and a boom in the fintech industry.
While traditional banks have struggled to keep up with the surge in digital banking, they are attempting to address their customers’ complaints by drafting more personnel to customer service.
