Skip to main content

#Fuel scarcity: Banks to shut down ATMs

Although the Petroleum products marketers and the Federal Government, Monday, reached an agreement over the lingering fuel crisis in the country, there are strong indications that commercial banks may close their business offices and even shut down Automated Teller Machines, ATMs, across the nation if petroleum products are not readily available.



Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, had agreed to call off their strike action over unpaid subsidy claims and commence lifting of petroleum products nationwide.

Meanwhile, some of the commercial banks in Lagos including Guarantee Trust Bank, First City Monument Bank, FCMB, among others on Monday sent text messages to their customers on the possibility of shutting down banking operations if the situation continues.

Given the shortage of petroleum products in the country, some of the commercials on Monday, according to Vanguard Hi-Tech findings were compelled to close down banking operations by 1:pm as against 4:pm official closing time.

FCMB in a text message sent to its customers stated clearly that, “Dear customer, our branches will close at 1pm from Monday May 25th, 2015 due to the shortage of petroleum products. All our alternative channels will remain available”

What this means is that majority of Nigerian commercial banks will not be working at full capacity if the scarcity had continued.

Just last weekend, some of the ATMs located in Ikeja city had network problems as the inverters that power the network had little or no power to run the machines.

“The ATMs will be affected in the current scenario. It is inverter that powers ATMs after daily banking operations. By the time the inverters runs down, the ATM will seize to work. That is the simple truth about it”, a bank official in one of the banks located in Ikaja told Vanguard Hi-Tech in an interaction.

According to her, the commercial banks will be compelled to be running half day if the situation remains.

Comments

Popular Posts

#AT LAST: FG, marketers agree to end fuel scarcity next week

The Federal Government and petrol marketers on Friday agreed to put an end to Nigeria’s fuel scarcity problems before the close of business next week Saturday. The Punch had reported exclusively that the government would meet with the marketers on Friday in a bid to address the prolonged fuel scarcity problems. The meeting, which was well attended by stakeholders in the sector, had top officials from the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, Pipelines and Product Marketing Company, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Others were heads from the Department of Petroleum Resources, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, Petroleum Equalisation Fund and the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources. Reading out the resolution reached after the meeting which lasted for several hours at the headquarters of the petroleum ministry, the Permanent...

President Zuma condemns killing of police officers

President Jacob Zuma has strongly condemned the killing of five police officers in the past week and called on members of the public to work with law enforcement agencies in the fight against crime and the creation of safer communities.