When you talk of the banking sector in Cameroon, reference will always be made to “Giants” like UBA, Standard Chartered Bank, BICEC, ECOBank among others. These banks are put in place to facilitate and solve the banking transactions of Cameroonian citizens. It is obvious why people choose to use banks but the question today is, are banks still reference points of trust in our nation?
BICEC bank which stands as the commercial banking giant in Cameroon with a total of about 65% of the market share is rather being criticized for the poorest customer service in the banking sector.
Not only do customer have to queue up to carry out transactions that feed their workers and pay their bills, , they suffer from perilous insults and rudeness from the French Cameroonian citizens who work there in the guise of customer service representatives. According to a loyal subscriber whose name I choose not to disclose affirms that “The company I’m actually working with registered me with BICEC as they were told the service was excellent. It took me less than a month to realize that it was the complete opposite.I asked the lady who is in charge of my account why I couldn’t perceive my salary the day following the deposit made by the company . She replied “It’s taught in school” implying I was dumb enough to ignore banking transactions and tricks.
Later on, many of my colleagues realized that on the day they signed a contract for an account to be opened almost all fees related to the follow-up of the said account are not made perfectly clear. You’ll just have to notice them as you go on (a subtract here and there for this reason or the next).
She adds that “all information must be knowledgeable to the potential client before he/she signs a contract. A client is to be treated with respect and transactions within a bank should have a minimum of confidentiality”.
I was left mouth-open the day a colleague of mine told me 100.000F was usurped from his account at ECOBank Cameroon. If customer’s finances are not save in a bank, where else will they be?
Nowadays, one of the most discouraging factors in banks is the aspect of queuing up to use an ATM machine or even to do cash deposits. I must admit the crowd I saw at UBA Bank Cameroon instilled great fear in me. Not only was I sent away by the disheartening customer service, but the queue in this modern era was unspeakable.
Queue in front of ECOBank
What baffles me is that with the technological wind of change that has blown across the world, Cameroon had blatantly refused to move with the trend. Look at the queue in front of a bank. Would you really like to stand there under the screechy sun? I won’t, I tell you the truth. I don’t have that patience.
Why not automatize the system for transactions to be done anywhere, anytime while the bank generates revenue within a shorter time.
Saddening enough is the fact that as technology evolves to make such things easier, smart thieves (hackers, scammers) work hard to reap where they did not sew.
The plea has been easily said. Banks, automatize your banking system, be customer centric, proactive and get a big buzz in your revenue within the shortest time possible.