Customers of GTB, Zenith, Others Sign Up for Alternatives as Bank Charges Increase

• Many Nigerian banks have increased SMS alert fees from N4 to N6 due to a telecom tariff hike approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission
• Customers are unhappy with the fee rise, viewing it as exploitative, especially since banks continue to charge other transaction fees
• Some clients plan to switch to email alerts to avoid the higher SMS charges, while calls have been made for the Central Bank of Nigeria to investigate alleged unfair banking practices

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

Following a 50% increase in fees imposed by many commercial banks, Nigerian bank clients will now have to pay more to receive SMS alerts for transactions. Effective May 1, 2025, the new fee increased the price of each SMS alert from N4 to N6.

Customers have already been informed of the change by banks such as GTBank, Fidelity Bank, Globus Bank, Sterling, and Ecobank, who have attributed the rise to increasing telecom provider rates. More banks are anticipated to make similar adjustments in the days ahead.

In a message entitled “Important Update on the Charges of SMS Transaction Alerts,” Fidelity Bank explained:

“Due to an industry-wide increase in SMS costs by telecommunications providers, the charges for SMS transaction alerts have been revised from N4 to N6 per SMS effective today, May 1, 2025. This adjustment is necessary to ensure we continue delivering secure, timely, and reliable transaction notifications to you.”

Similar notices were sent out by GTBank to customers, alerting them to the revised charges and stressing the value of SMS notifications for tracking account activity. Customers who would rather not receive SMS alerts can, however, adjust their preferences on the bank's website by using the opt-out option.

The Federal Government, acting through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), approved a 50% rise in tariffs for phone, data, and SMS services countrywide in January, which is when telecom operators raised their rates.

The CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Muda Yusuf, responded to the increased fees by saying that the rise was anticipated because of modifications to telecom laws and rates. Nevertheless, he chastised the banks for shifting the entire burden to their clients.

Hard choice

To save money and lower charges on their accounts, many clients have expressed their determination to choose electronic mail alerts from their banks.

Speaking to this medium over the weekend, some customers declared that they would turn off the SMS transaction alerts associated with their accounts.

A bank customer named Biola Bayowa said that the rise in SMS fees was exploitative. Bayowa remarked that despite various transaction charges regularly debited from her bank account, the bank nonetheless increased SMS charges.

“This move of increasing SMS charges is very exploitative even though they cited telecommunication charges. What about all the numerous unwarranted debits that I get from my account? They are using the telecommunication increase as a yardstick to raise theirs. GT will remove different charges from my account until they give me a negative balance,” she said.

Elizabeth Abu, a GTCO customer, stated that she would go to her bank and choose to have her transaction alerts sent exclusively to her email address.

Abu claimed that the constant debits were getting annoying and that she was upset about the decrease in her account's capitalised interest.

“It does not make sense for the bank to charge me for a transaction I did and also charge me for the alert they sent.”

First HoldCo Plc client Clement Arubu reported that his bank sent him a total of N1,050 in transaction debit notices each month. According to Arubu, the debits were substantial, particularly when compared to the bank's 10,000 customers.

“Most customers receive these alerts and neglect them because, to them, the money is small. But when you debit the same money from about 10,000 customers, then you can be sure that the money is huge,” he said.

Bayowa suggested that the CBN should investigate the excesses of certain banks that were allegedly cheating customers.

CBN makes changes to ATM withdrawal limits

Legit.ng reported that the new N100 ATM off-site withdrawal charges have begun since March 1, 2025.

Imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the withdrawal charge will see Nigerians and other ATM users charged 100 per transaction for using ATMs not belonging to their banks, otherwise known as off-site ATMs.

Findings show that banks loaded their ATMs with cash as they began the new charges.

Source: Legit.ng