The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has vowed to investigate the scarcity of funds witnessed by customers in most Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Lagos State.
The CBN‘s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, who disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Wednesday, December 23, said the ATMs were introduced so as to ease the sufferings of the people.
Nwanisobi spoke on the heels of customers complaining that the proliferation of Agent Banking is responsible for ATMs not having money to dispense anymore.
He said: “It is highly preposterous for anyone to say that CBN connived with banks to deprive people of their money this season.
“The primary purpose, for which ATMs were introduced, is to ease the sufferings of Nigerians and to make banking easier and convenient. I assure the public that CBN will investigate the matter.”
It was, however, learnt that some ATMs that are not dispensing cash are those that are either faulty or looted and vandalised during the #ENDSARS protests.
Those ATMs that are not faulty, but due to network issues are also not dispensing cash thus causing scarcity of funds, thereby, leaving customers to patronise agent banking.
According to the CBN, agent banking is “the provision of financial services to customers by a third party (agent) on behalf of a licensed deposit-taking financial institution and/or mobile money operator.
