So, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has decreed that each ATM transaction shall henceforth attract a charge of N65. Clearly
, providers of banking services exist to make profits for their shareholders. But regulatory powers are a public good. There is a legitimate question to be raised here: (How) does this serve the public good? This is a country that is heavily under-banked; banking penetration is low; retail banking is poor in many places. For these deficiencies, customers are to be levied what is in effect a financial services tax of N65 per withdrawal. And this in a country in which no bank recorded a loss in the last year. I do understand ATMs need a back-end. But, if the banks are already profitable why the tax?
Does anyone know the figures for average trip to a cashpoint per customer per annum? That would give a sense of how much this tax is worth. With the level of hardship we have in the country, how many Nigerians can afford this tax? We need to organise to resist this use of high regulatory power for private profit. How does anyone introduce this kind of tax ahead of an election?
Chidi Odinkalu, Abuja:
, providers of banking services exist to make profits for their shareholders. But regulatory powers are a public good. There is a legitimate question to be raised here: (How) does this serve the public good? This is a country that is heavily under-banked; banking penetration is low; retail banking is poor in many places. For these deficiencies, customers are to be levied what is in effect a financial services tax of N65 per withdrawal. And this in a country in which no bank recorded a loss in the last year. I do understand ATMs need a back-end. But, if the banks are already profitable why the tax?
Does anyone know the figures for average trip to a cashpoint per customer per annum? That would give a sense of how much this tax is worth. With the level of hardship we have in the country, how many Nigerians can afford this tax? We need to organise to resist this use of high regulatory power for private profit. How does anyone introduce this kind of tax ahead of an election?
Chidi Odinkalu, Abuja:
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