A growing number of bank customers in Abuja are switching from SMS to email transaction alerts in response to increasing service charges by Nigerian banks. This move comes amid public outcry over what many consider exploitative banking practices, especially following the announcement by GTCO that its SMS alert charges would rise from ₦4 to ₦6 due to increased telecom tariffs.
Mrs. Dorathy Azinge, a GTCO customer, described the charges as exploitative, citing multiple deductions from her account even before the SMS fee hike. “GT will remove different charges from my account until they give me minus balance,” she lamented.
Similarly, Ms. Elizabeth Abu stated she plans to deactivate SMS alerts altogether, opting for email notifications to save costs. “It does not make sense to charge me for both a transaction and the alert notifying me of that transaction,” she said.
Mrs. Catherine Itoha expressed frustration over GTCO’s failure to reverse ₦20,000 debited from her account for failed POS transactions nearly a year ago. Despite repeated visits to the bank and filling complaint forms, she said the issue remains unresolved. “If this money didn’t go to a staff, then it must be part of their profit,” she alleged.
Fidelity Bank customer, Mrs. Esther Arthur, recounted how a ₦10,000 ATM withdrawal ended with a ₦630 deduction—far above the ₦100 stipulated charge for off-bank ATM use. “This is so sad,” she said.
Zenith Bank customer Mr. Augustine Ode called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to check the excesses of banks allegedly defrauding customers through hidden and excessive charges.
Mr. Clement Arubu noted that while ₦1,050 in monthly charges may seem small to individual customers, when multiplied across thousands of accounts, the earnings are significant. “Customers neglect these charges, but banks rake in millions monthly through them,” he said.
As more customers become aware of these deductions, many are reconsidering their banking habits—shifting to electronic channels to avoid the mounting costs of SMS alerts.
