More Nigerians dump banks’ mobile services over high charges

A growing number of Nigerian bank customers are opting to disable their SMS alert services, citing the rising costs as a major concern,  according to Business Hallmark’s investigations.

The SMS alert service, which notifies account holders of transactions such as withdrawals, deposits, and transfers, has been a vital security feature to curtail rising fraud. However, escalating fees tied to  these alerts have made many customers reconsider their use.

Early in the year the federal government had  given approval  for the telecommunications service providers to increase their tariffs across board. This was followed by an increase in the maximum allowable SMS alert fee that banks can charge customers.

The increment  was effective  from May 1, 2025 and since then there has been an influx of customers opting out of the SMS service, as many have reportedly shifted a bulk of their financial transactions to Fintechs for seamless cost – free transactions. When the approval was given, many banks alerted their customers to the new charge regime.

One of the banks had sent an email message to its customers  that read  “Please be informed that effective Thursday, May 1, 2025, the SMS transaction alert fee will increase from ₦4 to ₦6 per message. This adjustment is due to a recent increase in telecom rates as communicated by the telecommunication service providers,” one of the banks had said in an email message to its customers.

The aftermath of this, according to Business Hallmark’s investigations, is that several bank branches across major cities have reportedly witnessed  an increase in customers visiting to request the deactivation of their SMS alert subscriptions.

Switch over

A man, who identified as Ahmed, told Business Hallmark that he was  at a GT Bank branch in Lagos last week to disable his SMS alerts after being charged close to ₦3,000 for the service.

He confided in this medium that he was taken aback, when an official of the bank, informed him  that many other customers were also disabling their SMS alerts, a development, he said, was necessitated by the current hardship and a feeling of disconnect from the hard reality of suffering Nigerians are passing through by the government, who authorized the new charges.

Another customer,  who identified herself as Yetunde, said she had switched to receiving transaction alerts only via email to avoid the high SMS alert fees.

“I have over three Nigerian bank accounts, come to think of it, I will now be charged for all the banks I use, I prefer to use my email to monitor my transactions, or I go on the mobile app to refresh my balance,” she explained.

She went further, “Right now I prefer to deal with Moniepoint, which has been my habit for the past year because of their seamless operation.”

However, for many, the alternative comes with its own peculiar challenge, as attested to by Kanayo, a pharmacist in Lagos. He shared his experience with this medium, that he no longer tracks his  SMS alerts because he relies solely on emails.

According to him, he sometimes loses track of transactions, explaining, “A customer sent me money two days ago,  but I have not seen it; I have checked the emails too, it’s not there. It would have been easier if an SMS alert came in, but it’s too costly.”

According to him, the obverse of disabling SMS alerts is the inconvenience and stress of having to constantly check emails to monitor his account activity.

Many Nigerians find the monthly fees, which can accumulate significantly depending on transaction volume, too burdensome amid the country’s challenging economic environment.

Customers say the charges add up quickly and strain their limited budgets especially in this period of hardships.

Multiple  charges

Many customers are saying Nigerian banks  have burdened  them with so many charges in the face of economic hardship; these include transfer fees, account maintenance fees, SMS alert fees, ATM withdrawal fees, and levies like the cyber-security levy.

For clarity, if a customer is sending money to another person using a different bank, this attracts three charges including the transfer fees or commission, Value Added Tax (VAT) on the transfer as well as an SMS charge. Then, if the transfer is N10,000 or more, the receiving account is also charged N50 as electronic money transfer levy.

The new ATM withdrawal charge is just one of many deductions that Nigerians face daily.

Most banks deduct between N50 and N100 monthly for account maintenance. Interbank transfers attract charges ranging from N10 to N50 per transaction. Customers are also charged between N6 and N15 per SMS alert on transactions, while using a bank’s short service code incurs a charge of N6.95.

Additionally, a N50 deduction applies to transfers above N10,000, while ATM card replacements attract fees ranging from N1,000 to N2,000.

Some of these charges also include a 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax, further increasing deductions.

Many Nigerians have long contented  that these charges are excessive, especially given the economic hardship in the country.

For many, these deductions are not just figures on a bank statement but represent a significant strain on their finances.

“I work as a secondary school teacher, and my salary is barely enough to cover my expenses,” said  Ojo Abiodun, a resident of Egbeda, Lagos.

“Now, I have to think twice before making a withdrawal. The additional N100 charge may not seem like much to some people, but when added to other deductions, it reduces my already small income.”

Similarly,  Patience  Okoro, a market trader at  Sango Ota, lamented how the charges affect small business owners.

“I rely on POS agents because banks are often crowded, and now they are charging more. If I withdraw N10,000 twice a week, that’s N200 gone just on withdrawal fees. It’s unfair. Do they want to kill us?”

Banks should stop sending multiple SMSs – NATCOMS

President, National Association of Telecom Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMS), Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, said that though the banks’ SMS increment was a result of  the 50 per cent increment in telecom tariff, the banks should desist from sending multiple SMSs to their customers.

Ogunbanjo noted that instead of sending four to five SMSs on a transaction, the bank can harmonize it and send it at once to reduce the cost to consumers.

“The banks should avoid sending multiple SMSs to their customers, because they can harmonize four to five SMSs usually sent on a transaction to just one. This will reduce the cost borne by the customers,” the NATCOMS president said in a recent interview.

By avoiding debit, VAT messages, cyber-security charges, and others separately, he said, banks would retain their customers’ loyalty, and it would be a win-win issue.

He also insisted that the N6 SMS charge is outrageous and should be slashed to N5.

“So, in that wise, it should have been N5 for SMS, if it was a 35 per cent increase, but, unfortunately, they ignored our calls, and then they have now started charging a 50 per cent increase,” he said.

He described the increment as unfortunate,  imploring the banks to reduce sending debit and Value Added Tax (VAT) alerts separately.

But experts have insisted that transaction alerts are essential as they aid customers to monitor and control their account activities in real time.

Ambrose Omokordion , Chief Researcher Officer at Investa, told Business Hallmark, “I will not advise bank customers to deactivate their SMS alert service.

“Instead I would rather advise them to retain their subscription to the SMS alert service of their banks because it helps prevent fraud in their accounts.