Nigeria’s Central Bank wants banks to stop dragging their feet on ATM reversals. In a new directive to commercial banks, microfinance banks and payment service providers, the CBN says customers must be refunded within 48 hours for any failed ATM transaction. If the transaction is “on-us” (you used your own bank’s machine), the refund should be instant—or within 24 hours if there’s a technical snag.
The move is aimed at cleaning up a persistently messy corner of Nigeria’s fast-growing digital payments market, where network blips and creaky integrations routinely trap customer funds. In a circular signed by Musa Jimoh, director of the CBN’s Payments System Policy Department, stakeholders were invited to submit observations ahead of an October 31, 2015 deadline—signaling the rule’s path from proposal to enforcement.
Why it matters:
Nigeria’s e-payments have scaled quickly, but consumer trust hasn’t kept pace. Delayed reversals and complaint mazes have been a tax on everyday banking. A hard 48-hour clock—and automation—puts liability back on institutions, not users.
The fine print:
- Automatic reversals: Banks and ATM acquirers must deploy systems that auto-reverse failed or partial transactions—no more “come back in 7–14 working days” or forcing customers to open tickets for obvious failures.
- Funds in limbo: Any institution holding customer money due to failed disbursements must reconcile and return balances immediately.
- Enforcement: The CBN will lean on audits, on-site inspections and monthly operator reports. Sanctions are on the table for non-compliance (the circular doesn’t fix a tariff, but the message is clear).
For customers:
Expect faster make-goods and fewer excuses. The directive standardizes what many users assumed should already be table stakes: if the bank didn’t deliver cash, it shouldn’t keep the cash.
The catch:
- Technical readiness: Some providers will need to retool switch integrations and settlement flows to support real-time or near-real-time reversals.
- Network reliability: Connectivity glitches across acquiring and issuing banks could still create edge-case delays.
- Awareness gaps: Without consumer education, some banks may revert to old playbooks. Clear in-app and SMS notifications will matter.
Bottom line:
It’s a consumer-friendly nudge that could meaningfully improve sentiment around card rails—if banks actually wire up the automation and treat the 48-hour window as a ceiling, not a target. For a payments ecosystem chasing scale and credibility, speedy reversals are low-hanging fruit.
