Telecom operators yesterday said commercial banks were not prepared for the full blown cashless programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Acting under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ALTON), they believe the success rate of e-transaction that has plummeted on account of the withdrawal of old notes without a concomitant increase in the supply of the new notes that has led to the use of e-payment channels has shown that the banks were ill prepared for the programme in terms investment in requisite infrastructure.
Its Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, who was reacting to the sharp decline in the success rate of electronic transactions in recent times, said the mobile network operators (MNOs’) infrastructure remained resilient adding that the failure was from the commercial banks side.
He said from the traffic report monitored on the transactions that pass through the network, the fault was not that of the MNOs. He said the operators only serve as a highway and have no control over what happens when the transactions get to the server of the banks.
“We think the banks are not prepared for this. The banks are overwhelmed,” Adebayo said, adding that if the problem was from the MNOs, people would not have been able to access the internet on their mobile devices.
In a separate interview, the President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Ikechukwu Nnamani said the flip-flop service of electronic banking has nothing to do with the strength of current network infrastructure.
Nnamani who is the Chief Executive Officer of Medallion Communication Limited, said the inability of bank customers to make use of either the USSD or app is purely a fault of the banking platforms.
President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers of (NATCOMS), Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo had blamed the development on pressure exerted on the network owing to the knee-jerk CBN’s cashless policy implementation. He said the current state of access to telecoms services is very poor because of the pressure on the network.
“Cashless is good because it is a global phenomenon but it must be implemented gradually. With the current state of infrastructure now, you will be lucky if you make 10 cash transfers and get alert for two. As a matter of fact, the success rate of electronic cash transfer since the problem started has slumped to between 20 and 25 per cent. The CBN should extend the timeline,” he had said.