In Nigeria’s controversy-laden banking landscape, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation has drawn a firm line in the sand: banks must resolve customer complaints within two weeks or face direct intervention. But how far will this ultimatum go in finally compelling the banks to do right by their customers? Festus Akanbi asks

Inn a banking sector still haunted by the ghosts of past collapses and buffeted by the dizzying pace of digital transformation, the latest pronouncement from the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) arrives as both a reassurance and a rebuke.

At the Lagos International Trade Fair during the NDIC Day, the Director of the Claims Resolution Department, Olawale Sule, delivered a message that cuts through the noise: banks must resolve customer complaints within two weeks or risk having such grievances escalated directly to the NDIC.

Harvests of Unexplained Deductions

Behind the announcement, however, lies a deeper story, one of weary customers and wearying indifference. Across Nigeria, depositors face a daily assault of unexplained deductions, delayed reversals, and failed ATM withdrawals that leave them stranded. For many, these are not abstract inconveniences but experiences that cut into livelihoods and breed mistrust.

The NDIC’s directive is therefore both timely and necessary. Still, it also exposes how fragile depositor confidence has become in a system that handles trillions yet sometimes seems indifferent to the individuals whose funds sustain it.

Over the past decade, Nigeria’s financial ecosystem has been reshaped by the explosion of digital banking. Mobile apps, ATMs, and instant transfers have brought convenience, but they have also introduced complexity and risk.

Falling Institutional Capacity

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sought to maintain momentum through policies such as the 2020 Guidelines on the Operations of Electronic Payment Channels and the 2019 Guide to Charges. Still, the growth in digital usage has outpaced both institutional capacity and consumer protection.

By mid-2025, banking assets had exceeded N100 trillion, with over 70 per cent of all transactions taking place through digital channels. Yet in just six months this year, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) recorded over 3,000 complaints against banks, more than any other sector. Fintech firms followed with more than 1,400 cases, while the electricity sector ranked a distant third.

The NDIC’s intervention thus speaks to a system straining under its own success. Nigeria’s digital payment architecture has grown so rapidly that the mechanisms for redress are creaking. Every failed transfer or unreversed debit represents not just a technical glitch but a blow to trust, the currency on which any banking system ultimately runs.

The Ultimatum

The two-week directive is therefore more than bureaucratic instruction; it is a lifeline for customers. It formalises what has too often been left to chance. Once a customer complains, the countdown begins. If the bank fails to act within 14 days, the NDIC steps in. For the ordinary Nigerian, this creates a tangible path to justice, a signal that the system, however belatedly, hears them.

Still, the directive exposes the inadequacies of the status quo. Two weeks can feel like an eternity to a trader whose POS device shows a payment that never reflects or a worker whose salary has vanished into digital limbo. For every customer who eventually secures a refund, countless others give up. The bureaucracy involved in complaint escalation, the opacity of internal processes, and the casualness with which banks treat these matters make redress elusive. The helplessness of depositors has become a defining feature of the modern banking experience.

Beneath the headlines, the NDIC’s renewed activism reflects a broader recalibration of regulatory roles. Since its establishment in 1988, the Corporation has shouldered the mandate of deposit insurance, bank supervision, and failure resolution. Its powers have expanded under the NDIC Act No. 30 of 2023 and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, which grant it the authority to liquidate failed institutions and prosecute offenders. Its coverage levels —N5 million per depositor in Deposit Money Banks, Non-Interest Banks, and Mobile Money Operators, and N2 million per depositor in Microfinance, Mortgage, and Payment Service Banks —now protect about 99 per cent of Nigerian depositors.

But while its legal arsenal has grown formidable, implementation remains uneven. Despite layers of oversight from the CBN and NDIC, complaints about unauthorised deductions, phishing, and delayed reversals persist. The FCCPC has recorded a 20 per cent annual rise in fintech-related grievances, a trend fuelled by Nigeria’s deepening digital adoption, which saw fintechs process over N500 trillion in transactions last year.

The NDIC’s escalation framework, a toll-free helpline, dedicated email, online portal, and offices across the country, is designed to make redress accessible. Sule, in his remarks at the trade fair, urged depositors to use these channels and to remain vigilant against fraudulent “wonder banks” that lure unsuspecting Nigerians with promises of impossible returns.

He also reminded the public that any legitimate financial institution must be listed on the NDIC’s official website, an often-ignored resource that could prevent countless cases of fraud.

Beyond Policy, Process

Beyond policy and process, the issue strikes at the heart of Nigeria’s economic well-being. The banking sector contributes roughly 4.5 per cent to GDP and underpins Africa’s financial connectivity. Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry Deputy President, Leye Kupoluyi, praised NDIC’s interventions, noting that the reliability of Nigeria’s banks sustains their regional dominance. Yet reliability must go hand in hand with accountability. When unresolved complaints freeze small-business cash flows or disrupt inventory cycles, the ripple effects reach deep into the economy. For the millions of SMEs that depend on prompt access to funds, a single delayed reversal can mean the difference between continuity and collapse.

Globally, effective complaint resolution is recognised as a pillar of financial inclusion. The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) resolves about 90 per cent of consumer complaints within 60 days. Nigeria’s twin-tiered system, the CBN’s 72-hour resolution rule and the NDIC’s two-week escalation window aim to outperform that standard.

Indeed, NDIC studies show that deposit insurance and swift redress mechanisms can boost public savings by up to 20 per cent. The expansion of coverage from N500,000 before 2020 to N5 million today has already prevented bank runs during periods of economic uncertainty.

Legacy Challenges

Still, challenges abound. Many banks remain weighed down by legacy systems and staff shortages, making prompt resolution difficult. The digital literacy gap further compounds the problem: countless users lack the knowledge to lodge formal complaints or recognise fraudulent schemes. Regulators, too, must embrace technology to speed up response times. Artificial intelligence could triage complaints, while greater transparency around penalties would deter indifference.

In practice, the NDIC’s rule can change lives. Consider a Lagos trader who experiences a failed N150,000 POS transaction. He reports it to his bank and is promised a resolution “within days.” When nothing happens after two weeks, he escalates to the NDIC through email or the toll-free number. Within days, the matter is investigated, the funds returned, and trust, at least temporarily, restored. Multiply this scenario by thousands, and the directive’s significance becomes clear.

For the NDIC, the initiative is not merely administrative. It is an effort to rebuild the moral contract between banks and their customers. Confidence is the cornerstone of banking; once eroded, it takes years to rebuild. By drawing a hard line on complaint resolution, the NDIC signals that regulators can act as proper protectors rather than passive observers.

Yet the outcome ultimately depends on compliance. Banks must internalise the directive not as an obligation but as a commitment to service. Regulators must move beyond pronouncements to measurable enforcement, public scorecards showing which banks meet deadlines and which do not. And depositors must play their part by knowing their rights, keeping records, and following through on escalations.

In the final analysis, the NDIC’s two-week deadline is a small but significant test of institutional empathy in a system too often defined by indifference. It is a chance to prove that banking in Nigeria can be both profitable and fair, both digital and dependable. For now, many customers still feel powerless, their complaints unheard, their deductions unexplained, their faith worn thin.

The new directive gives them hope that someone is finally listening. Whether that hope endures will depend on what happens after day fourteen, whether the NDIC’s words translate into action, and whether banks begin to see each complaint not as an inconvenience but as a measure of integrity. Because in a financial system built on trust, the real currency isn’t naira, it’s confidence.