By Isaac Asabor

Copyright independent

The Nigerian financial sector has once again come under scrutiny, following the release of the latest report by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). The report revealed that banks and fintech firms were the worst offenders in customer rights violations, accounting for the largest share of complaints lodged by consumers in the first half of 2025.

According to the FCCPC, the banking sector alone logged 3,173 complaints, while fintech companies accounted for 1,442, making them the top two culprits among over 30 sectors assessed. In total, more than 9,000 complaints were recorded across sectors between March and August 2025. Thanks to interventions, the commission said it recovered over N10 billion for aggrieved consumers within the same period.

This development is more than statistics. It is a mirror reflecting the daily frustrations of ordinary Nigerians who depend on banks and fintechs to manage their lives and businesses.

Behind every number in the FCCPC report lies a personal story of stress and disillusionment. Take Sabitu Megbon’s situation, a trader in Lagos, who lamented the toll of banking failures on his small business:

“Almost every other day, I struggle to access funds to restock, and with no notice of service downtimes, I’m constantly left hanging. This has cost me loyal customers who now see me as unreliable.”

For Chinedu Okeke, an entrepreneur who relies heavily on digital banking, the story is similar: “I rely on online transactions to pay suppliers, but the bank’s app crashes whenever I need it the most. I’ve had suppliers cut ties with me because payments don’t go through on time. It’s unfair that banks don’t take responsibility for these repeated failures.”

And for Grace Abah, a civil servant, banking glitches hit closer to home: “My salary sometimes disappears for hours or days before it reflects. It means I cannot meet my household needs on time. The stress is unnecessary.”

The foregoing stories echo across Nigeria: countless customers battling failed transfers, unauthorised deductions, poor service delivery, and endless delays in redress.

The FCCPC has not minced words about the situation. The agency has repeatedly warned that persistent service disruptions, unauthorised deductions, and poor disclosure of terms may amount to violations of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018.

Tunji Bello, the Executive Vice Chairman of the FCCPC, has stressed that customers have a right to quality service, transparency, and timely redress. “Banks and fintechs cannot continue to operate as if consumers have no choice,” he said in a recent statement.

By calling out the financial sector so publicly, the FCCPC has effectively issued a wake-up call: fix customer service, or face tougher regulatory consequences.

From the FCCPC’s findings and consumer testimonies, the core challenges fall into four buckets that cut across unfair charges and unauthorised deductions, service failures, deceptive disclosures and slow complaint resolution.

Explanatorily put, while unexplained fees and charges continue to erode trust, downtime of apps, failed transfers, and slow transaction reversals remain daily headaches. This is as hidden terms in digital loans, vague interest rates, and poor communication prevail while many customers wait weeks, even months, before issues are resolved, if at all.

These problems are not just operational lapses; they reflect a structural disregard for customer experience.

In a country where over 40% of the population remains outside the formal banking system, banks and fintechs are the gateways to financial inclusion. But if customers who come in through these gateways are met with unreliability and exploitation, public trust in the system suffers.

The N10 billion recovered is significant, but it represents only a fraction of the hidden costs borne by consumers: missed business opportunities, strained family finances, wasted hours queuing at banks or calling customer care, and eroded confidence in financial services.

In effect, poor customer service is not just a nuisance, it is a drag on Nigeria’s economic productivity.