Amount claimed by customers of Zenith Bank plc, Guaranty Trust Bank plc (GTBank) and United Bank for Africa plc (UBA) dropped to N67.52billion in 2020 from N184.04 billion reported in 2019.
Amid the COVID-19 lockdown, the amount accumulated by Zenith Bank, GTBank, and UBA customers’ complaint increased significantly in the year under review.
Our correspondent gathered that increased fraud cases and failed transactions are key factors contributing to increased customer complaints.
Analysts have said customers witnessed interruption in transacting business online and Automated Teller Machine (ATM), maintaining that bankers committee must enhance digital security and improve on customers’ complaints resolutions.
Specifically, the amount claimed by UBA reported N39.05billion amount claimed by customers in 2020 as against N16.08billion reported in 2019, while that of Zenith Bank in the year under review dropped to N27.94billion as against N167.78billion reported in the prior year.
For GTBank, the bank reported N530.67million amount claimed by customers in 2020 as against N173.03million in 2019.
Our correspondent gathered that the three above banks reported 215,593 customers’ complaints in 2020, a 220 percent increase over 64,710 received in 2019.
The breakdown revealed that Zenith Bank reported 175,702 received complaints in 2020 as against 769 in 2019 while that of GTBank dropped to 32,193 from 49,553 reported in 2019.
However, UBA reported a significant decline in customers’ complaints in 2020 from 17,088 in 2019 to 7,698 received complaints in 2020.
Our correspondent gathered that unresolved complaints escalated to the Central Bank of Nigeria for intervention increased in the year under review.
UBA’s complaints escalated to CBN moved from 29 in 2019 to 48 while that of Zenith bank closed 2020 at 83,899 from 549 reported in 2019.
Reacting, the President, Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN), Dr. Uju Ogubunka attributed the hike in customers complaints on technical related issues from ATM and network hitch, untrained staff of banks and awareness of customers has increased over the years.”
According to him, “Most of these banks' staff are not properly trained. In the process, they contribute to customers complaint which is not good for the banking industry.”