This weekend, several citizens were unable to withdraw money via automatic teller machines (ATMs), and for good reason: the lack of liquidity in some ATMs. A situation that did not fail to irritate them to the point of entering consumer protection associations.
On the eve of the big party, many Moroccans find themselves in front of empty counters. This annoying, but also recurring situation has again undermined heads of households to the point that some of them have sent complaints to consumer protection associations.
This year the lack of liquidity in some ATMs was brought to our attention by the president of the Moroccan Association for Consumer Protection and Guidance (AMPOC), Bouazza Kherrati. The latter protests against the fact that ” this happens every year as Eid Al Adha approaches“.
” We have received several complaints. Many citizens went this weekend to the ATMs of their respective banks and came back empty-handed. Often, during the Eid period, the counters pose the same rabbit to consumers. It is a breach of the contract signed between the consumer and the bank which emphasizes the availability of liquidity in ATMs for the benefit of the customer each time he wishes to withdraw his money ”, supports Bouazza Kherati in a statement to MoroccoLatestNews.
Banks act in a dominant position
According to him, “ATMs are designed for just this purpose, for emergencies and times when banks are closed. And if the customer cannot withdraw his money from the ATMs when needed, that means that they become useless ”.
Considering that ” the money should be available to the customer at all times through this ATM system ”, the president of AMPOC believes that ” the banks do not respect the terms of the contract binding them to the consumer and act in a dominant position ”.
According to him, ” the Bank of Morocco (BAM) should intervene to allow the availability of money in ATMs during this period of purchase of the Eid sheep ”.
A witness, AM, who confided in MoroccoLatestNews with stomach ache, claimed to have fallen into this situation for the second year in a row. ” It’s the weekend, I go to the ATM of my bank to withdraw the money that I was supposed to use for the purchase of the sheep. And there, I am told insufficient funds. No problem, I go to another machine in my bank, even problematic. I found myself going around my bank’s ATMs, but to no avail, ”he laments.
Faced with lack of liquidity, customers left behind
“Finally I had to withdraw from another bank, with fees of 6 Dhs since it is an interbank withdrawal. Why should I pay extra fees, however small, when I already have a free service in my bank, but which I cannot benefit from? “, he asked himself.
Our witness tells us that he wasted more than an hour looking for a powered ATM, while his family (his wife and two children) were with him in the car.
Questioned by MoroccoLatestNews FR on this issue which resurfaces every festive period in Morocco according to AMPOC, a banker confided under the seal of anonymity that ” every Friday and In General, banks feed ATMs enough to allow their customers to enjoy their money “.
“And precisely during the period of religious holidays, especially Eid Al Adha, the banks supply the ATMs twice as much as usual, precisely because of the strong demand for liquidity. But sometimes the demand is more important than the availability. What causes a lack of liquidity at the ATM level »Supports our interlocutor.
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