* ‘My Harrowing Experience With GTB’, Customer
For Nigerian banks, it seems the only way out of the challenges, ocassioned by some monetary policy measures that seem to have put them on the edge is to shift the burden through levies and deductions that have continued to impoverish customers.
Indeed, as Nigerians continue to celebrate surviving the outgoing 2025 year, the common denominator, among most citizens, who have keyed into the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s cashless economy are the many charges and deductions by banks that have left sour tastes with customers.
Amid the threat posed by Fintech companies’ aggressiveness with zero charges on customers’ deposits and transfers, metrobusinessnews.com (MBN) checks revealed that trillions of naira was generated from electronic-banking charges, account maintenance fees, sms, among other charges imposed on customers in the outgoing year of 2025.
Indeed, 10 banks, including United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Access Holdings Plc, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc raked in an increase of 104.5 per cent from levies and charges in the first quarter ended March, 2925, from N710.05 billion reported in the first quarter ended March 2024.
The banks generated N1.45 trillion from E-banking, others in the first quarter of the year under review.
For instance, the banks raked in about N520 billion from service charges in 2024, representing an 18% jump from N440 billion in 2023.
Financial inclusion experts argue that excessive bank charges could undo hard-won gains in financial deepening and discourage savings.
Consequently as the banks continue to count their blessings for a mouth-watering performance for the 2025 financial year, their customers on the other hand, are gripped by seething outrage as they decry the relentless assault on their hard-earned money through a ruthless surge in unjustified charges, deductions, fees, and commissions, feeling trapped in a cycle of exploitation, that is usually concluded at the end of each month
Analysts say the seeming lack of enforcement of some of its policies that protect customers’ rights suggests CBN may have unwittingly traded this year’s tecord 95 per cent financial inclusion and the cashless economy drive, following the unrestrained imposition of more taxes, also on electronic payments on which the ambitious goals rest their wings.
Today, virtually all financial payments attract multiple taxes and deductions, a situation which the analysts say has increased the burden of survival by millions of poor Nigerians.
The development, most noticeable among tier one banks, is worsened by their poor customer service, for which Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) stands out, may have added to the challenges of the outgoing year.
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MBN interactions showed that GTB may have deviated from its avowed commitment to excellent customer service, quick response time and non delay and timely alerts on transactions.
Today, deductions are effected even before alerts come much later.
Most worrisome, according to some customers is the fact that deductions and charges are effected even on intra bank transfers and on opening and closing investments on Treasury
Bills, for instance, without proper explanation from account or relationship managers.
Besides, some analysts say the culture and values for which the bank was known and admired have been jettisoned by some of its relationship managers and account officers
Analysts say, the development, which is however, not restricted to GTB, has the potential of threatening financial inclusion in Nigeria, despite efforts by the CBN, and lately, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, (FCCPC).
They have urged CBN and relevant agencies to strictly enforce the laws and implement penalties against lenders that flout approved tariffs and establish an accessible redress mechanism for customers.
Analysts Say Businesses, Customers Suffocating
MBN interactions with some customers of banks revealed frustrations and lamentation of losses as they are left reeling under the agony of unexplained deductions and hidden charges, exposing a cruel paradox in the financial sector.
Businesses and the generality of citizens are yet to recover from the shocks of CBN’s reforms, high cost of living is still a major worry and operating and production costs for businesses remain elevated, amidst weak consumer purchasing power.
Most worrisome are the frequency and the magnitude of the levies.and deductions,” Friday Ameh, Lagos based analyst said.
“Why should customers be the ones to pay many charges on banking transactions, without improvement in customer services. Its a shame!,” says another analyst.
While CBN is crying that a large chunk of the currency is outside the banking sector, the banks are introducing charges that will further scare people from patronising them. This is unfortunateas the two.parties seem to be working at cross purposes,” he said.
They were unanimous in their submissions that customers have been left on their own, without choice but to entrust their hard earned money to the towering fortresses of banks, gleaming structures where fortunes grow for a privileged few while the masses are bled dry.
Like ravenous predators, these banks lurk in polished lobbies, waiting to pounce with endless charges—SMS fees, card maintenance, transfer levies, each deduction a sharp claw scraping at meagre savings.
And as the cycle of excessive charges continues and dreams wither, the poor are pushed further into the abyss of poverty, their hard-earned naira transformed into profits for smiling executives, while they are left clutching shadows.
Most pathetic is the fact that once an account is opened, ATM cards are believed to be issued, with sms telling the customer to visit any of their branches for collection.
Also, some customers claim that they are being charged every month by the bank on accounts that they have not been operating for some time. In some cases, the banks call customers to pay additional money into some accounts because the amount previously standing to the customer’s credit has been exhausted from such monthly deductions.
The customers allege that the banks, in some cases, are not being transparent in the manner they impose these charges. Sometimes a customer may not receive an alert after a transaction, but that does not mean that the bank is not deducting the charges from the customer’s account. So, when the charges come at the end of the month, the customer is unable to match them with the transactions or whatever services the bank rendered.
To the average bank customer, these charges and levies are getting too many. Indeed, they are crowding out the little money that people earn and deposit with the banks.
Unfortunately, the charges are not commensurate with the quality of services that the banks are rendering to Nigerians, according to the customers.
This has led to some individuals beginning to question the benefits of operating bank accounts.
The truth is that these charges now constitute a disincentive to bank customers and a threat to the financial inclusion programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria, which is designed to draw more Nigerians into the formal financial system, obserced, another customer.
“Do these banks realise the impact of these deductions on a poor customer’s accounts and what they mean to them at this critical period of Nigeria’s history?. Do they realise the agony and the pain they inflict on low-income people when they see their bank balances at the end of each month.? The average person expects that money kept with the bank is safe, but unfortunately the same money is being gnawed at by these insidious charges that make no sense whatsoever to most of the customers,” Ameh observed.
Adding, he said, “Nigerians should not continue to be punished for just keeping their money in the banks.”
Customer’s Bad Experience With GTB Festac Branch
Explaining his bad experiences with GTB with MBN, the customer said: “My account is domiciled in Festac branch. Their online complaint resolution mechanisms are not effective, while the relationship managers at the branch feel to big to either respond to mails or attend to complaints.
The bank makes deductions any how and anytime, including investment in Treasury Bills.
Eplaining durther, he shated his correspondes woth his supposedly, account or relationshipofficer:
[24/11, 08:31] Good morning, and I hope this meets you well.
I guess you are my account officer based on your co-signatories with your former colleague, in some correspondences to me.
I did T.bills investments, and one of them matured last week. But am not happy with the deductions on, in and out of the money, even within your bank as the money left my account with the bank and paid back to my account on maturity.
Kindly see below alerts I received when I did the investment in May and maturity in November:
23/5/2025
(1)Amt:N0000000 DR
Desc: CASH BUY/SETTL/
(2)NGN000.00 DR
Desc: PROCESSING FEE ON TBILL
(3)NGN0000.00 DR
Desc: CUSTODY FEE ON TBILL
(4)NGN000.00.DR
Desc: VAT FEE ON TBILL
(5)NGN00.00 DR
Desc: Electronic Money Transfer Levy
21/11/2025
(B)
(1)NGN0,000,000.00 CR
Desc: MATURITY/PRCDS/NIGTB –/IR
(2)NGN00,000.00 DR
Desc: WHT ON TBILLS
Please, what are the percentages for some of these deductions, like the withholding taxes of N00,000.00 as well as custody fee, among others.
Will appreciate your response at your earliest convenience.
Thank you sir.
After series of calls, the officer responded: Good morning sir, the #00,000.00 is new WHT stipulated by the CBN/FG
Bank customer: Good morning. But, that’s not my only question, or you choose to answer questions from your customers? What’s the percentage, when did it start, why double deductions, and what’s custody fee?
GTB Bank officer: All the charges were clearly stated and are statutory charges by the bank for all Tbills.
The only one newly implemented is the latest WHT made at maturity.
[25/11, 00:29] Bank customer: Good morning. Please let me know if you really are my account officer.
Bank officer: Well, I will be handing over to a new person effective this week sir. You can send all correspondence to retailfestac@gtbank.com.
Bank customer: Let me have the details of my new account officer as well as your branch operations manager. Please don’t put me in the dark by responding to me ASAP, while I lodge my complaints formally, through your branch first. I will not send my correspondence to your general email address. Again, that’s not good relationship management, and I want to believe that your bank has core values, which must be upheld by all its employees in their relationship with customers . Am waiting!
Bank officer: Sir, for swift response to complaints, we have the contact center, WhatsApp chat and website to sort out urgent complaints.
Your new account officer (not assigned) or relieve officer will respond to you when you send to the team’s email address which I sent earlier to you sir.
Bank customer: Let’s not mix up issues. Your colleague said I should contact you for my account issues. You once co-signed my investment letter. So, what has been your role as per my account with your bank, and if you were not part of the relationship team, why were you referred to me before your unexpected behaviour? Is that the new value proposition of GTB or your own construction? I requested contact details of either your operations or branch manager, and that does not make sense to you to respond to, right?
Bank officer: To clarify my message, I will be handing over effective 28th of this month. (November). And like I mentioned earlier, afterwards you can send a mail to the team’s email and you will get a response as soon as possible. The branch operations team only attend to customers physically present
Bank customer: Thank you, sir. I take this as the official response of the branch, and possibly, the bank will let the world know the essence of relationship management . Please let’s end the ‘unproductive’ conversation.
Thanks.
Bank officer: Apologies if you see it that way.
I only informed you in advance and this is not supposed to be an issue. As I will still be active till this week runs out. Thank you 🙏.