Bank Customers Petition CBN over Illegal Deductions, Seek Intervention

Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN) has written a petition to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) seeking urgent intervention over what it describes as persistent and unauthorized charges being deducted from customer accounts across the country.

This was disclosed by Uju Ogubunka, president, BCAN, during the 2025 Artificial Intelligence Conference, Themed “Power of AI: Enhancing Efficiency and Customer Satisfaction for Better Financial Services Experience”, hosted by SuperNews in Lagos that brought together stakeholders in the banking and fintech sectors.

Ogubunka lamented that many of the charges deducted from customer accounts particularly under the end-user billing model for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) do not fall within the framework of fees approved by the CBN.

“On the issue of excess charges, we have formally written to the Central Bank of Nigeria seeking a permanent solution. If that doesn’t happen soon, Nigerian bank customers may have no option but to publicly demand accountability,” he revealed.

The BCAN President highlighted a grim picture of banking satisfaction levels in the country, arguing that many customers remain deeply frustrated by poor service delivery, even as banks boast of adopting digital and AI-driven tools.

“Let’s be honest customer satisfaction in Nigeria’s banking sector today is practically non-existent. The number of complaints, petitions, and legal disputes being filed daily at the Bankers’ House, CBN, NDIC, and mediation centres tells the real story,” Ogubunka added.

According to him, if artificial intelligence had truly taken root within financial services as advertised, many of the recurring issues such as transaction failures, poor response times, and vague charges would already be resolved.

Johnson Chukwu, the conference keynote speaker and a respected financial expert, underscored the immense potential AI holds for transforming Nigeria’s financial landscape especially in areas like consumer lending, customer experience, and fraud detection.

Chukwu explained that AI now enables instant consumer credit scoring, making it possible for financial institutions to offer small personal loans with minimal human involvement.

“Today, consumer credit is expanding because AI tools can assess your income and spending habits. Telcos know your payment patterns, your locations, even where you smoked last night. That data enables quick credit decisions you apply, and within minutes, the loan is disbursed,” he added.

Chukwu also emphasized how AI can drive hyper-personalisation in service delivery, adding “With AI, one million customers can be treated as one million unique individuals. The system recognises your face, fingerprint, and transaction behaviour. Its tailors’ services that suit your lifestyle and financial goals.”

He noted that the technology can also drastically reduce the time it takes to resolve complaints, citing AI’s ability to mine customer data and instantly identify root causes.

Chukwu closed his remarks with a framework for AI adoption in financial services, listing seven essential “C’s”: Capacity, Capability, Collaboration, Creativity, Cognition, Continuity, and Control.

“Artificial Intelligence will shape the future of customer experience and service delivery. Financial institutions that fail to embrace it risk becoming irrelevant. The time to act is now,” he emphasized.