Banking in Bauchi State, especially during weekend takes dramatic dimensions ranging from epileptic network to cashless Automated Machines (ATMs). Yesterday, WikkiTimes interaacted with some customers of Eco Bank who felt dissatisfied initiating transactions at the ATMs booths.
Halilu Muhammad Sani, one of the bank’s customers who was stranded at the ATM booth, expressed his grievances over the bank’s activities, especially during the weekend. According to him, either network glitches or cash-stripped ATMs shall play out on a weekend basis.
Most of the time, the bank’s ATMs are cashless as the bank does not load enough money into them, according to Halilu.
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“As a customer of ECO Bank, most times, especially mid-month, you realize there is no more money or not enough money in the machine when someone comes to withdraw,” he told WikkiTimes. “I feel very bad whenever I don’t get satisfied with the bank where I save my money and do other transactions.”
“The issue of ECO Bank poor’s services and lack of enough money in the ATM machine for customers have been lingering for a long time now,” he added. “For example, you can come to the ATM machine 10 times and the only time you can luckily withdraw maybe two times due to poor services and inadequate money in the machine.”
One of helpless situations one could finds himself, according to Halilu, is when the machine swallows an ATM card. “That is why i prefer using my bank’s domciled machine,” Halilu said. “With that, I can easily be attended to in my bank unlike other banks which I don’t have an account with.”
Ibrahim Kawu, a civil servant at the Bauchi branch of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), shared a similar view with Halilu. Having a Guarantee Trust (GT) Bank has been a kind of saving grace for him, he explained.
“This issue happens not all the time, but majorly,” he stated. “Like me now, I am using two banks: GT and ECO Bank, but I don’t usually have problems with GT like I do with ECO.”
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Taking customers’ complaints seriously would help the bank maintain customer loyalty, said Ibrahim, who urged the bank’s management to look into the myriads of challenges being encountered by its customers.
Reacting, an Eco Bank staff member who spoke to WikkiTimes refuted the aggrieved customers’s complaints, saying the bank the bank remains one of the best giving hitch-free service delivery.
“Money is always deposited in the machine during work hours before we close for the day,” he said. “We also deposit money into the machine during the weekends, but you know, sometimes due to network issues and some technical problems, you do not get the chance to withdraw.”
“Sometimes people might want to withdraw at night when the money in the machine might have finished,” the staffer continued. “But I assure you, ECO Bank’s ATM is one of the most payable machines around this area.”
