Some customers of the First National Bank (FNB) Ghana have complained about foreign exchange adjustments and the effects they have on their account balances.
These customers massed up at the bank’s head office in Accra to lodge complaints about the dissatisfaction they were experiencing.
The complaints were a result of the bank’s efforts to resolve and reconcile debit card transactions that took place in December 2022 and January 2023, which required adjustments to the exchange rates on some customers’ balances.
The adjustments resulted in debits for transactions made on Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform founded in 2017 with an estimated revenue of US$20 billion. The exchange was ordered to halt all regulated activity by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority in June 2021.
Mr. John Inkoom, speaking on behalf of the group of affected customers, expressed disappointment over the situation, which is causing customers to lose their investments.
“We bought commodities, and to us, whatever we bought was in Ghana cedis but on December 29, 2022, we got notification that our accounts have been frozen and days later we saw that our accounts have been debited with huge amount. We had negative balances on our accounts, and we realized that the bank has started charging interest on that money.
“With this adjustment, adjustment which we understand comes about when you use your card to buy something which is in dollars, but we have not done that, so, we were confused and that is why we gathered here this evening.”
John Inkoom, one of FNB’s affected customers
FNB Assures Its Customers
During a meeting on the same evening, the bank authorities told customers that there had been a “miscommunication” and pledged to resolve the issue within 48 hours, Mr. Inkoom said.
Delali Dzidzienyo, Head of Marketing and Corporate Affairs at FNB, on behalf of the bank issued a statement assuring customers that, it was working with its international payment partners to resolve the discrepancies on affected accounts and encouraged customers to visit any of the bank’s branches for further assistance.
“We reaffirm our commitment to help all our cherished customers with a better banking experience and assure the general public that we are working with all stakeholders to solve the issues amicably.”
FNB
This message however seemed not to seat down well with a lot of the affected customers of the bank as they continued to express their dissatisfaction in response to the statement on twitter.
“We’re not settling for any empty promises. This is a very unnecessary way to have tarnished your image. This is the first step you should have taken than to charge your customers in such a haste manner. If after this, you think you’ll have these people with you, then you’re joking.”
One of FNB’s affected customers
Some of the customers expressed disappointment in the bank’s service and termed the bank’s approach unprofessional.
“This is so unprofessional, how can you freeze my accounts and debit my funds and credit negative balance and later come back to tell me this Kwaku Ananse story.”
FNB Affected Customer
Some Affected Customers Are Likely To Close Their Accounts
Other customers demanded instant pay and threatened closing the accounts they had with them (the bank).
“Pay me All my money…I want to close my account now”
Another affected customer of FNB
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