The growing shift by bank customers in Nigeria from commercial banks to fintech apps to carry out transactions has piled pressure on the neobanks.
As a result of glitches experienced by customers while using e-payment channels of traditional banks, many have turned to fintech companies such as Opay in recent times.
BusinessDay interviewed some customers of Opay at its outlet in Ikeja who have experienced failed transactions.
A customer who identified himself simply as Samuel Oti said: “I don’t know what to do anymore as Opay, which I trust so much, has started acting up.”
“For some days now, I have been trying to make transactions using my Opay app but my balance keeps saying ‘irregular balance’, thereby making me incapable of making transactions,” he added.
Rebecca Joseph, another customer of the digital bank, was at the Opay outlet to complain about a transaction she carried out.
“I made a transfer of N50,000 last week Friday from my Opay app to my UBA account and up to now, I haven’t been credited,” she said.
Other fintech apps experiencing a surge in transfers have also recorded failed and pending transactions.
A Twitter user identified as Ohiri Morgan said: “I transferred money from Moneipoint to my Access account on March 15, 2023, Moneipoint wrote it successfully, but up till now I have not been credited from Access Bank.”
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Another Twitter user said: “My transactions have been pending for over 24 hours; I have been debited and haven’t been refunded, please attend to me, it’s urgent.”
According to the user, N11,8000 was transferred from his Palmpay account to an Opay account.
Addressing the issue of transaction glitches, Bashir Yusuf, director for partnership at Opay said: “We are putting out measures to solve this issue; if a transaction is been carried out from Opay to Opay, I can guarantee you a seamless transaction, but from Opay to other banks or vice versa, then there is likely to be a tech glitch.
“In terms of solving customers’ issues, as a result of some specific partners facing tech issues due to the downtime, we directly contact them and try our possible best to solve these problems. Most times, the money would have left Opay successful, but the other institutions for one reason or the other aren’t able to apply such funds into the receiver’s account.”
According to Yusuf, when these transactions take longer than expected due to the inability of these institutions to apply them to the customers’ accounts, a reversal is made at Opay’s end, and the customers are informed of the transactions not being successful in real-time.
