The House of Representatives has issued a call to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to instruct banks to enhance their systems to reduce failed transactions and promptly reverse them without requiring customer intervention.
In a resolution adopted following a motion moved by Hon. Emmanuel Ukpong–Udo during Tuesday’s plenary session, the House emphasized the urgency of addressing the issue of delayed reversals of failed transactions by commercial banks.
Ukpong–Udo highlighted data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc, revealing that over 135,500,000 Nigerians utilize banking services. He referenced a CBN press release dated June 8, 2020, which outlined revised timelines for reversals and resolution of refund complaints.
According to the CBN’s directives, failed ATM transactions within the same bank should be instantly reversed, with a manual reversal timeline not exceeding 24 hours in case of technical issues. Refunds for failed transactions on other banks’ ATMs should occur within four hours, while disputed POS or Web transactions should be resolved within 72 hours.
Moreover, all banks were instructed to clear the backlog of ATM, POS, and Web customer refunds within two weeks from June 8, 2020.
Ukpong–Udo expressed concern over the increasing prevalence of failed bank transactions, constituting over 69% of complaints in July 2023. He noted the adverse effects of these issues on business investments and lending activities across the country.
The House resolution urges the CBN to direct banks to proactively address system failures causing failed transactions and promptly reverse them, regardless of customer complaints. Additionally, it mandates relevant House committees to collaborate with the CBN and Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) to investigate the challenges and propose effective solutions.
