By Valentine Amanze
Suffering has become the other name for weekend banking in Mbaise, Imo State.
At the popular Ahiara-Junction in Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area, Imo State, our correspondent spoke to frustrated customers at United Bank for Africa (UBA), and Keystone Bank, who lamented poor services and their inability to withdraw money from the banks with their ATM cards.
Two of the customers, Mr. John Osuji, and Mrs. Joy Nwoke, who spoke at the UBA Ahiara-junction branch, urged the banks to improve their services especially on weekends.
Osuji lambasted the banks’ management for not providing enough money at their ATM outlets.
He said that UBA has three ATM payment outlets at its Ahiara-Junction branch, which were not loaded enough to serve customers.
His words: “We suffer much to withdraw money from these commercial banks in Mbaise. Today, I left home by 7am to withdraw money; I have gone to the other banks within the same junction but could not withdraw. I have been waiting here for the past four hours. Only few people had withdrawn money from the crowd you are seeing here. There is no staff to explain anything to us. Those who could not wait went to Owerri to withdraw; thereby spending more money.
“I want the banks to load enough money in their ATM machines during the weekends especially now that Christmas is around the corner.”
Nwoke, who corroborated Osuji, said that the poor ATM service in the banks was affecting social activities in Mbaise and its environs.
According to her, they have only weekends to get money for their businesses, while urging banks to improve their services.
She said that if not for robbers one would have preferred keeping money at homes than coming to banks to suffer.
A source at UBA, who did not disclose his name, blamed their headquarters for the trend. He said that the headquarter was aware of their challenges, coupled with the slowness of their ATM machines.