National Investment Bank - Please wake Up! (Part 1)

Attention Bank of Ghana, Securities and Exchange Commission: Counter-cheque issuance by the Banks.

In February 2018, I became a customer of the National Investment Bank (NIB) through my employment with the Municipal Assembly. Over the years, I have had serious concerns about some practices of the bank. Many times, I have gone to a branch with my ATM card to withdraw money, but had to resort to using a counter-cheque because the ATM wasn't working.

To add insult to injury, I get charged an astronomical GHC 10 for a leaflet of counter-cheques, while an entire cheque booklet costs GHC 12. One fateful day early last year, I "lost my cool" as I found myself in this situation again. It happened at the Achimota branch, which was my branch at the time.

While waiting to be called to the counter for my cash, I received a text message alert: a charge of GHC 10 for the counter-cheque. My adrenaline began rising. I immediately walked to customer service and demanded to see the branch manager. I told them to refund the GHC 10 to me immediately and fix the ATM so I could withdraw my money.

If I bring my ATM card to withdraw money and the ATM isn't working through no fault of mine, the bank has no right to charge me for their inefficiency if I have to resort to a counter-cheque. In the full glare of everyone, the staff agreed I was right and started pleading with me for the inconvenience.

Effectively, it's fraudulent for banks to charge customers for using a counter-cheque when their ATMs are faulty. From that day, I decided I wouldn't ever fall victim to that fraud again. But I was wrong. It happened to me again at the Adenta SDA branch. I had gone to withdraw money with my card, and as usual, the ATM was faulty. So I went inside the branch.

That day, it was as if the customer service staff had been informed ahead of my coming. Indeed, I "met my match" that day. This elderly woman had fully prepared herself to face me.

As I started to explain that it's wrong to charge customers for a counter-cheque if the ATM is faulty, the customer service staff got so angry. "It's an administrative charge," she said. She insisted I would be charged, or I should go home and bring my own chequebook to withdraw.

I'm sure some would ask why I don't carry my chequebook with me. Well, the answer is that I don't see the need to carry around a chequebook for a salary that can be withdrawn with the ATM card in one go.

I stood there speechless, intently looking at the woman. Seeing that she was an elderly woman, and not wanting to create a scene, I allowed myself to be defrauded again. In life, it's okay to lose sometimes. You can't always be a winner.

One day, at a staff durbar at my Municipal Assembly, a branch manager of NIB was in attendance. I asked the manager about the issue of the bank charging customers for using a counter-cheque when the ATM is faulty.

I put it to the manager that couldn't the banks sometimes deliberately turn off their ATMs to cash in on counter-cheques? If 50 customers are issued counter-cheques due to a faulty ATM, the bank makes a cool GHC 500 from a cheque booklet that costs GHC 12. If a branch can sell at least one booklet a day, five days a week, that's GHC 2,500. That's GHC 10,000 a month for a branch.

Is there not an incentive for the bank or banks to increase revenue by setting targets for counter-cheques?

One day, I again encountered a faulty ATM at the Madina branch. Quickly, I geared myself up for a showdown. I walked to the team on the right as you enter the branch. I showed them my ATM card and said, "I've come to withdraw money, but the ATM is faulty." "Use the counter-cheque," a staff member said.

I then asked, "Is it free?" "No, you'll be charged for it," she said. "You must be joking," I angrily retorted.

Immediately, I was directed to the customer service manager. As I began my "I know my rights" story over the faulty ATM and counter-cheque, the customer service manager agreed that I was right. I shouldn't have to pay for the counter-cheque as the ATM was faulty.

He immediately gave me GHC 10 in cash as a refund. The charge would definitely go out of my account because it is automated. I told the officer that I had had enough of the unscrupulous and fraudulent practice. So I would do a publication, especially since their ATMs are often faulty.

The officer started pleading with me not to publish the story. The branch manager – an elderly woman – was quickly called. As if by some divine orchestration, the branch manager happened to be the very person who came to the staff durbar at my Municipal Assembly. The very manager I had put my questions to that day but didn't get a satisfactory answer.

I had a lot of discussions with the branch manager in her office. I insisted that I would do the publication as enough is enough. The customer service and branch managers did all they could to plead with me not to do the publication. I was even asked, "Don't you need a loan?"

The continuous pleas by the managers, who are both older than I, got to the human side of me. I told them I would think about it further. I made my way home as I left the branch. About an hour later, I received a call from someone who identified herself as the head of customer service at NIB. She was calling from the head office branch at the airport.

Please look out for part 2, and find out what happened at the Achimota and Abeka branches that forced me to eventually publish this story despite having forgiven them over a year ago.