ACCESS BANK REACTS TO CRITICISMS ON STAMP DUTY CHARGES, SET TO REVERSE DEDUCTIONS & PAY ON BEHALF OF CUSTOMERS

 

Access Bank has finally reacted to the barrage of criticisms against it by its customers across the country over the N50 Stamp Duty it deducted from accounts of its customers on Saturday and Sunday.

Nigerians, especially; customers of the bank took to various social media platforms to castigate it for making deductions to the tune of N1,200 for Stamp Duty.

The aggrieved customers threatened to occupy Access Bank branches nationwide on Monday to seek reversal of the money so far deducted from their individual accounts.

However, in a statement on Sunday, the bank promised to refund its stamp duty deductions made from the account of its customers, following the public outcry.

It is worthy to note that Stamp Duty deductions apply to all credit received into current and savings accounts in respect to electronic transfer and teller deposits of N10, 000 and above, which is remitted to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

The collection of the fee took effect in February but the bank delayed inadvertently its implementation until this week, the statement explained.

Access Bank further noted that in an email it sent to its customers on June 23 that it “will be required to process the accumulated charges” incurred between February 1, 2020 and April 30, 2020.

Brave Views learnt from majority of the customers claiming that they did not see the bank’s message, giving room for the huge social media backlash that ensued, as soon as Access Bank began making the deductions incurred since February.

Some customers noted that even if the deductions are legal, they were outrageous and beyond what was necessary.

They subsequently promoted the harsh tag: #AccessBankScam, trended at number one spot in Nigeria as at the time of writing this report.

The statement also read in parts: “We have heard our customers’ feedback that this charge is unwelcome, especially at this time against a challenging economic drop”.

“We have considered your feedback and have decided to pay the stamp duty on our customers’ behalf for the affected period only”.

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