News

CBN sets out tough terms for ATM owners

Detailed new operating guidelines from Nigeria's central bank establish rules for everything from downtime to trash disposal.

September 24, 2015

Banks in Nigeria must settle ATM cardholder disputes within 72 hours or face sanctions under a new directive from the country's central bank.

The Central Bank of Nigeria also warns that deployers who fail to keep their ATMs reliably stocked with cash will be penalized, according to a report by Business Day.

The CBN also established these guidelines, among others:

deployers must monitor ATMs for faults and cash outages;

operators must ensure that ATMs are stocked with fit notes;

ATM downtime caused by a technical issue cannot exceed 72 hours per incident (if this is not possible, the deployer must alert cardholders);

help desk contact details must be displayed at ATMs;

during ATM hours, deployers provide a staffed phone line that customers can use to report outages;

all ATM charges must be fully disclosed;

all ATMs must provide waste disposal baskets;

all ATMs must have security cameras;

all ATMs in Nigeria must be registered — including location and serial number — with the CBN; and

acquirers must report volume and value of transactions to the CBN on a monthly basis.