Mounting scare reigns over reliability of ATMs
WEDNESDAY, 09 DECEMBER 2009 01:11 BLESSING ANARO

, depositors become ‘beggars’ in banking halls
Contrary to what many earlier thought that banking halls would be made empty with the introduction of the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), the trend seemed to catch public attention for quite a while, manifesting in long queues at the ATM centres of many banks. But that, however, is no longer the case today, as ATM machines are no longer as reliable as they once were. For instance, a popular second-generation bank with offices in most parts of Lagos and the South West is experiencing huge problems in this regard, BusinessDay investigations have revealed. Similarly, a visit to most of ATM sites, including those located within banks’ premises showed that they were mostly out of use. Efforts to get banks’ officials to talk about what is possibly wrong with the ATMs proved largely unrewarding. But BusinessDay gathered that there is a new ATM card with electronic stripes recommended by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and that a number of bank customers who have for months opened accounts or requested for the ATM cards are yet to get one. During a visit to some of banking halls, queues were seen to have grown longer than before. A chat with the customers revealed that some of them actually came for as low as N2,000, but have to stay on the queue for hours before cashing their money, while others who want more money in hundreds of thousand of naira equally spend the same hours on the waiting line. More worrisome is the situation where motorists who are also customers queue up on public roads such as Akonwojo road, Egbeda, thereby causing traffic jams while trying to get a space to park in the bank premises, joining the long queue outside the banking hall. Kola, a customer, was very furious at one of the worse banking queues witnessed outside one second generation bank that passed the CBN litmus test of audit in Festac last week Tuesday. “What kind of nonsense is this? How can I spend more than two hours in a banking hall, all because I want to cash some money? He queried, giving a recent scenario of drama witnessed on the queue some minutes earlier. According to him, a man at the head of the queue was seen tugging furiously at the collar of another man; the reason being that the man on the queue would not accept an elderly man to claim a position in front of him. The old man gave the excuse that he had to sit for a while because he was tired, but the wisdom of another bystander, who volunteered his place for the elderly man made peace to reign that day. While this is on, the real ‘Nigerian character’ not witnessed in banking halls for a while now is beginning to come to the fore - the ‘connection’ thing; someone enters smiling at somebody he knew as a friend in the bank and in less than 10 minutes is smiling out of the bank with his money. Others would grumble, even shout at the teller girl, but that is the end of that unfortunate matter.



http://www.businessdayonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6668:mounting-scare-reigns-over-reliability-of-atms-&catid=54:banking-finance&Itemid=326

There is no garnishing anything, ATM is not working in GTB. It is beginning to become a perennial issue there. The reporter should have mentioned it, instead of trying to play save.

You need to enter any GTB Bank, then you will understand the above.

Indeed, depositors are now beggars with this stealing machine.

GTBank recently carried out a system upgrade and that explains the ATM downtime.

GTBank ATM terminals are by far the most effective in the country

Mounting scare?

If you have been defrauded by that machine, then you will appreciate the noise about this stealing machine!.

It is a shame that the ATM gateway providers are far from knowledgeable in the software and hardware parts of the ATMs and as such they can only implement what the units come with instead of tweaking or customizing them to suit our own environment with the peculiar issues.

This import and use mentality will grind this country to a halt one day as we keep paying the wages of workers in foreign lands while complaining about unemployment in ours.

I have received over 30 proposals from companies from both Western and Asian countries for one form of partnership or the other but the annoying thing is that they see these partnerships as export - import relationship which to me means that they believe we cannot produce anything which is unfortunate and shameful.

Where are our engineers? What does it take to program an ATM? What does it take to build a TV or refrigerator? What about a generator or even wind turbine?

Why do we have to import almost everything in this country?

Go ahead and write the program or tell that your engineer brother to do it.

Afam:

It is a shame that the ATM gateway providers are far from knowledgeable in the software and hardware parts of the ATMs and as such they can only implement what the units come with instead of tweaking or customizing them to suit our own environment with the peculiar issues.

This import and use mentality will grind this country to a halt one day as we keep paying the wages of workers in foreign lands while complaining about unemployment in ours.

I have received over 30 proposals from companies from both Western and Asian countries for one form of partnership or the other but the annoying thing is that they see these partnerships as export - import relationship which to me means that they believe we cannot produce anything which is unfortunate and shameful.

Where are our engineers? What does it take to program an ATM? What does it take to build a TV or refrigerator? What about a generator or even wind turbine?

Why do we have to import almost everything in this country?

I wonder

Afam:

It is a shame that the ATM gateway providers are far from knowledgeable in the software and hardware parts of the ATMs and as such they can only implement what the units come with instead of tweaking or customizing them to suit our own environment with the peculiar issues.

This import and use mentality will grind this country to a halt one day as we keep paying the wages of workers in foreign lands while complaining about unemployment in ours.

I have received over 30 proposals from companies from both Western and Asian countries for one form of partnership or the other but the annoying thing is that they see these partnerships as export - import relationship which to me means that they believe we cannot produce anything which is unfortunate and shameful.

Where are our engineers? What does it take to program an ATM? What does it take to build a TV or refrigerator? What about a generator or even wind turbine?

Why do we have to import almost everything in this country?

There are so many engineers in the land, but many are ASUU-strike products, too good only for paper work, and verbal contributions. Let them invent an ordinary rechargeable lighter.

So why dont you do it? Don't you have engineers in your family? Tell them to do it!

Singular:

So why dont you do it? Don't you have engineers in your family? Tell them to do it!

There is no point sounding harsh. We are not quarrelling, but it baffles that with all you have said so far, you sound uncultured. I guess, you might be one of the products of "mo gbo mo ya" university. No well cultured human, will extend his anger to another's family. If you try it again, I will wire it to you. When it hits you, you will know what it is. Be warned!.

Harry Awurumibe - a sport journalist was on TV Continental this morning, he is threathing to go all the way to make GTB refund some cash about N233,000 fraudulently withdrawn from his account at a Stanbic IBTC ATM in Ibadan, while he lives in Lagos.
I suggest more people should start going his way, that way we would get these Banks to wake up to their responsibilities.

Oboma1:

If you have been defrauded by that machine, then you will appreciate the noise about this[b] stealing machine!.[/b]

It is not a stealing machine. . It is called an ATM or a cash machine. . .
People are the thieves "stealing", the machine doesnt steal!
Geddit

Where are our engineers? What does it take to program an ATM? What does it take to build a TV or refrigerator? What about a generator or even wind turbine?

I understand how you feel.

Adebowale was manufacturing refrigerators in 70s, Odutola was manufacture tyres in the 70s etc

It takes nothing serious to build ATM, it is just a dummy terminal to respond to user inputs.

But our brains have been so blocked with colonialism that we believe everything foreign is better.

The banks in Nigeria will not buy or give contracts to build ATM locally.

I know of a product, produce in Nigeria and exported to Benin republic and Nigerians go buy it from there and bring back to Nigeria.

They simply wont buy it direct from Nigeria!

It is that bad and our leaders do not help matters, they send wrong signal.

Sadly, if we cant change our mindset, NO FUTURE for Nigeria.

Creating Atm machines would be disastrous.

mama-gee:

Creating Atm machines would be disastrous.

The ATMs you have today were they delivered in different hospitals by pregnant women?

Until Nigerians are ready to patronize local production, they should not demand for it. Our 'consumer orientation' has led to huge trade deficits that have more or less stunted our growth as a nation.

Still ATM systems are not as difficult to deploy and manage as Nigerian banks seem to make them.