Market traders reject electronic transfer despite cash scarcity

Despite cash scarcity and rationing by banks, some traders in Lagos say they are still rejecting electronic transfer of funds due to network issues.

The traders, especially those engaging in petty trading, said bank network delays and failures had significantly impacted negatively on their businesses.

They were responding to a survey by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the level of acceptance of electronic transfers to ameliorate the effects of cash scarcity across the country.

A NAN correspondent who monitored major markets in Alimosho, Oshodi, and Mushin observed that most traders have lost trust in cashless transactions.

Mrs Fatima Tunji, a corn seller, expressed the frustration she faced in her daily sales due to network delays and failures.

“Imagine today, I sold roasted corn for just N500 to a lady, and she said she would transfer the money to my account.

“You would not believe that the transfer was delayed for some time and eventually failed.

“That failed transfer ate into my profit margin. I ended up not receiving the money, and my customer was also unable to access the money. It was very frustrating,’’ she said.

Mrs Ufuoma Nnaji, a roasted yam and plantain seller who shared a similar experience, said she had long stopped accepting transfers ever since a customer used a fake transfer alert to dupe her.

She said, “Since then, I have decided that I will not sell to any customer that does not pay cash, especially now that I don’t have an Android phone that I can use to check my balance.

“The best I can do is to call a Point of Sale (POS) operator that I know to carry out those services for me, but the customer bears the charges’’.

When the NAN correspondent visited some banks around Ikotun, Ejigbo, Ajao Estate, and Mushin, only a few banks were dispensing cash to customers.

For banks that have about five Automated Teller Machines (ATM), NAN observed that only one was dispensing cash to customers.

To non-account holders with the banks, the ATM dispensed a maximum of N5000, while to those that have accounts with them, the machine paid a maximum of N10,000.

Some POS operators who spoke to NAN said they were experiencing cash scarcity, urging commercial banks to ease the burden on Nigerians by regularly restocking and maintaining ATMs.

Mr Hakeem Dosunmu, a POS operator in Ajao Estate, told NAN that due to the cash scarcity, many of his colleagues had increased their charges.

According to him, the N100 charge on the N5000 withdrawal had increased to N200, while the charge for N10,000 had doubled to N400.

“But I have decided that I will still accept the normal N100 for N5000 and N200 for N10,000.

I say this because I am a Nigerian and I know how difficult it is for people to survive this hardship,’’ he said. (NAN)