A bank customer’s experience with kidnappers underscores how early adoption of mobile app service can prevent loss of money, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI
As the banking sector continues to introduce convenience into its offerings for customers, aside the onus of meeting up with its regulator’s cash-less policies, many customers are still wary of adapting to the convenience being marketed.
Most of the banks, in recent time, have introduced various conveniences to the market through mobile app, automated teller machine (ATM) cards and online banking, among others, in an attempt to ensure safe custody of their customers’ money, and ease of transaction without barriers.
However, one of the factors that always prevent banking customers from adopting this technology is errors on the part of the banks. Some customers have complained of erroneous deductions without early reversal, jammed network and, ultimately, online fraudsters and internet hackers now on the prowl.
Confirming their fears, a report by the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) disclosed that 1,461 cases of electronic frauds were recorded in Nigeria in 2014. The figure, NIBSS said, represented an increase when compared to the 822 reported cases in 2013
NIBSS said internet banking, ATMs and other electronic platforms are responsible for the increase in fraudulent activities. Specifically, NIBSS said internet banking and ATM were the lead channels for perpetuating e-fraud in 2014. These, however, made more customers to be afraid of the risk of hooking up with online or mobile banking.
A recent experience of a member of the National Youth Service Corps, Kelechi Raymond (not real name), at the hands of kidnappers, has given an insight into the good side of customer’s experience with mobile App.
The Corps member, whose story was online, narrated his ordeal and how bank mobile app saved his bank deposits from being withdrawn by the kidnappers. “I have never been a fan of mobile banking app because of its conditions in Nigeria. The many hitches like connection error, service time out and too many charges, deductions from accounts always make me frown at mobile banking,” he said.
However, what turned out to be his hatred for using mobile apps later saved him from having his savings withdrawn by kidnappers. On a certain day after his sister had sent a huge amount of money to one of his two bank accounts, FirstBank, the vehicle he boarded was attacked on his way to Port Harcourt and he was accosted by kidnappers.
He said the kidnappers took possession of all the ATM cards of passengers and collected their passwords. His FirstBank ATM card where he had N265,540, which was transferred to him by his sister for him to start a business after service, was also collected.
He had left his GTBank debit card where he had N23,000 behind. By providence, when his phone rang, one of the kidnappers, who was waiting for one of their men who had gone to an ATM machine to empty the account of all the kidnapped passengers who had released their ATMs and passwords under duress, asked the Youth Corps member to show him his ringtone folder. In the process, he was able to log into his FirstBank mobile app and transferred the money into his GTBank account.
“As I was swiping to get to the folder, I came across the Firstmobile app. something in me said, ‘why don’t you transfer your money in FirstBank to your GTB account?’ At first I was scared, I didn’t know if the ones that had gone to withdraw had already completed the transaction. Or if in the process I might be caught! I had to summon courage to work on my network as fast as possible. I logged in and my N265,540 was still there in my FirstBank account. I transferred the money to my GTBank account. Barely after 15 minutes, they received a call from the ones that went to withdraw that my account had only N540. ‘Nothing dey there’, he told them. They said they were going to hold me there. I began pleading that I was just a Corps member,” he said, adding that he was released three hours later with others.
As a result, marketing experts believe most banks are offering convenience and safety to customers beyond mere product. This, according to experts, curbed incidences of fraud in banking transactions in 2015 as mobile money transaction volume grew to N4 billion during the year, the CBN said.
The Director of Banking and Payments System Department of the CBN, Dipo Fatokun, said the actual loss as a result of fraud in bank transactions dropped from N6.2 billion recorded in 2014 to about N2.3 billion in 2015.
