The Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN) has formally petitioned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over increasing deductions and charges from customers’ accounts, highlighting growing dissatisfaction with the current banking experience in the country.
BCAN President Uju Ogubunka made this disclosure during the 2025 Artificial Intelligence Conference organised by SuperNews in Lagos. Themed “Power of AI: Enhancing Efficiency and Customer Satisfaction for Better Financial Services Experience,” the event brought together key stakeholders to explore how artificial intelligence can transform Nigeria’s financial sector.
Ogubunka’s remarks come at a time when Nigerian banks have migrated to an end-user billing model for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) transactions, a move BCAN has openly criticised. The association contends that the model, whereby fees are now deducted directly from customers’ airtime, falls outside the CBN’s approved bank charges framework.
“We have written to the Central Bank of Nigeria to find a permanent solution to the issue of excess charges,” Ogubunka said. “If they don’t act, bank customers may have no choice but to demand accountability themselves.”
He painted a grim picture of customer satisfaction in the Nigerian banking system, arguing that the volume of complaints and petitions at institutions such as the CBN, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), mediation centres, and the courts reflect widespread frustration. According to him, the reality is far removed from the ideal of efficient, customer-friendly financial services.
Ogubunka expressed hope that artificial intelligence could address many of these persistent challenges. However, he warned that for AI to have meaningful impact, its integration must go beyond mere adoption to actually resolving customers’ pain points.
“If AI has truly arrived, many of the issues currently being reported would have been eliminated,” he asserted.
In his keynote address, Johnson Chukwu outlined the transformative potential of AI in the financial sector. He cited the rapid growth of consumer credit as an example of how machines now analyse users’ income and spending habits to make real-time lending decisions.
“Telcos know who you pay, where you go, and what you consume. With that information, systems can accurately determine creditworthiness and approve loans in minutes,” Chukwu explained.
He also described how AI has enhanced personalisation in banking, enabling institutions to treat millions of customers as individuals based on unique behavioral and biometric data. According to him, this level of insight also improves the speed and precision of resolving customer complaints.
Highlighting what it takes to implement AI successfully, Chukwu introduced the “seven C’s” framework: capacity, capability, collaboration, creativity, cognition, continuity, and control. These elements, he said, are critical for any institution looking to remain relevant in the evolving digital landscape.
“Artificial intelligence will define the future of human interaction and experience,” he concluded. “Companies that fail to adopt AI will not only be uncompetitive ,they will become obsolete.”
As financial institutions accelerate AI integration, the concerns raised by BCAN serve as a reminder that digital innovation must be matched with regulatory compliance and a clear focus on protecting customer interests.
