Checking Fraud In Banking Sector

The safety of raw cash is one of the primary objectives of establishing banks in any civilised society. Other reasons ranging from business transaction to the regulation of financial and economic activities of a state and nation appears secondary. It is for this and other factors that make the sector to enjoy wide spread patronage from customers across board.

There is no doubt that the banking industry is as important as the judiciary, health and educational institutions to mention but a few. Unfortunately, commercial banks are no longer living up to the public expectations these days, as a good number of them have been defrauding their customers of their money.

There have been reported cases of customers who go to their banks to withdraw money only to discover to their surprise that some notes have been neatly taken away during the process. This has made some unsuspecting customers who are in a hurry to count the money inside the banking hall to lose thousands and millions of naira without recovering such figures; while some have outrightly had their accounts misplaced due to computer manipulations.

Meanwhile, the interest rates offered by some of these banks to their customers are poor and discouraging. Just as the general services rendered to their customers is nothing to write home about as depositors spend hours before being attended to.

On the issue of civil servants whose monthly salaries are paid through the banks, civil servants have been passing through sad experiences since the system was introduced. I say this because it is an undeniable fact that workers salaries have always been delayed for days and even sometimes for weeks on flimsy excuses. To worsen the workers’ plight, the introduction of computerisation system is being used as an instrument of extortion and for perpetration of fraudulent practices.

It is in the light of these deficiencies that directors, stakeholders and management of the affected banks should always endeavour to screen their workers, particularly those charged with the duty of receiving and paying cash to their customers. They should also ensure that any of their clerks caught in such shameful deals are not only dismissed, but also be compelled to refund the money.

Above all, bank workers should be made to undergo regular training within and outside the country, with emphasis on upholding the integrity of their profession through honest and sincere handling of public funds. That way, sanity would gradually return to the banking sector for more efficient service-delivery.

Nwauwa is of Radio Rivers, Port Harcourt.