"If You Die Today, Your Next of Kin Does Not Have Access to Your Money": Man Exposes Nigerian Banks
- A man has said that many Nigerians think their next of kin is the automatic heir to their accounts, but it is not true
- According to him, banks have been feeding fat from dead customer's monies and taking advantage of people's ignorance
- He shared how people can outsmart the banks before their demise by having a signatory and written will
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Many Nigerians believe that their next of kin automatically inherit monies in their accounts when they die, but a Nigerian man has described this as untrue.
In an educative thread on Twitter, the man, @moderate_ustaz, described Nigerian banks as dubious and advised people to be wise, saying next of kin is useless in banks.
Source: Getty Images
He said banks go through a legal probate process to determine who gets the monies in their deceased customers' accounts.
The man explained that the legal probate is usually a lengthy and expensive process that would see the families forfeit some portions of the money to the banks when the process is completed.
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How customers can outsmart the banks
According to him, customers can outsmart their banks by ensuring they have a written will and that the next of kin is a signatory to their accounts.
He further advised that customers can request a Payable on Death (POD) form and explained that the POD makes it easier as the name on it gets access to the deceased's money upon providing a death certificate.
See his thread below:
Netizens share their thoughts on the next of kin issue
@mkaeey said:
"For me i have written my passwords and bank pin on a piece of paper and gave it to my mom and also told my brother, even if am taken away by death they can access everything."
@Idrisou4_ said:
"I've always been an advocate of one of your siblings that you're the closest to or even your mom having your mobile app login details for when anything happens."
@iamdcia said:
"My next of kin will be signatory to all my acc. My Dad did same with me immediately I turned 18. I became a signatory to all his acc."
@fourguyses said:
"If marriage is registered with the Federal Marriage Registry, wife is automatically your next of kin and heir."
@segilolaa said:
"Pls there is nothing dubious about this. The 'next of Kin' in bank account forms is just about details of the person the bank can reach out to if the account holder is unreachable.
"Beneficiary of a deceased assets can only be honored through a letter of administrate."
@bashirelbashir said:
"Thank you for this information, I once passed through this, for being the Next of kin of my father.
"We lose 15 % percent in the process."
10 Nigerian banks pocket over N235bn from e-banking fees
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that 10 Nigerian banks realised over N235 billion from e-banking fees.
Punch reported that UBA reported the highest earnings from customers' electronic transactions among the banks, while Jaiz Bank Plc had the lowest.
Out of all the banks, Stanbic Bank was the only one to report a decrease in earnings from electronic transactions.
In its financials, UBA described its electronic banking income as money collected on transactions processed via electronic channels such as ATM, POS, and mobile banking, as well as credit and debit card transactions.
Source: Legit.ng
