[Ebe]

When I was in Nigeria recently I resisted the urge to obtain an ATM card. I always went to the bank physically to withdraw cash. I suffered a few minor inconveniences as a result, especially on weekends when I would have liked to have more cash, but other than that, I was fine. When I started hearing from friends about their ATM woes, I knew that my caution had paid off and I was happy that I didn't get an ATM card.

My sense is that many Nigerians, especially those in the professional and middle class ranks, rush to obtain ATM cards and ignore the serious risks associated with the Nigerian ATM system because they want to appear chic. For some of my friends it's not a convenience thing but a conformist thing.

I have since learnt that it pays to be a nonconformist in many of these techy things. Give it time for its integrity and reliability to be established before jumping in.


Don't get me started on Nigerian banking culture. That's a topic for another day. Let me just say that my experience with Nigerian banks and bankers is that they always deal with you as though they are doing you a favor, and if there is something wrong it is always the customer's fault and never theirs.