Ethiopia: ATM Woes - Blame Falls At Feet of Ethio Telecom
"It is very difficult to get in touch with me
from Monday to Friday, because I will usually be in meetings," he
explained. "I cannot even answer phone calls; my free time is very
limited."
As a result of these time constraints, Mehari usually handles his
personal errands long after working hours are over. Fortune met him on
the evening of Monday, September 23, around the Wabi Shebelle Hotel,
located onRas Abebe Aregay Street. He was attempting to withdraw money
from his Commercial Bank of Ethiopia account, using an Automatic Teller
Machine (ATM).
Mehari started using ATMs two years ago due to the convenience they offered. On that particular day, however, the ATM was not working properly and he could not make a withdrawal.
"I tried the ATM machines in different locations, but none of them were working. That is why I came here, but it says 'your request cannot be accepted'," Mehari angrily complained.
Mehari is among the legion of bank customers frustrated with ATM service in the country. Although ATM cards are gaining traction - with the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), Dashen Bank (DB) and Awash International Bank (AIB) having 392,000, 270,000 and 30,000 cardholders, respectively - customers routinely complain about frequent problems during transactions.
Cash machines are relatively new to Ethiopia, but their number is growing quickly, with banks eager to ease access for their customers.
The CBE started out with eight machines, 11 years ago, and now has 300. There are also an additional 158 under deployment and 200 in the process of procurement, says Ephrem Mekuria, communication manager at the CBE.
However, despite the Bank's effort to improve access for its customers by increasing the number of machines, it is well-aware of the problems encountered by clients, Ephrem says. Network failure, due to service breakdown from the country's sole telecommunications service provider, ethio - telecom, and internal network problems, are the challenges faced by the CBE.
"Of course, our ATM services sometimes face interruption and most of the time this failure is attributed to ethio - telecom," agreed Estifanos Befekadu, who is head for Promotion Division at Dashen Bank.
Mehari started using ATMs two years ago due to the convenience they offered. On that particular day, however, the ATM was not working properly and he could not make a withdrawal.
"I tried the ATM machines in different locations, but none of them were working. That is why I came here, but it says 'your request cannot be accepted'," Mehari angrily complained.
Mehari is among the legion of bank customers frustrated with ATM service in the country. Although ATM cards are gaining traction - with the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), Dashen Bank (DB) and Awash International Bank (AIB) having 392,000, 270,000 and 30,000 cardholders, respectively - customers routinely complain about frequent problems during transactions.
Cash machines are relatively new to Ethiopia, but their number is growing quickly, with banks eager to ease access for their customers.
The CBE started out with eight machines, 11 years ago, and now has 300. There are also an additional 158 under deployment and 200 in the process of procurement, says Ephrem Mekuria, communication manager at the CBE.
However, despite the Bank's effort to improve access for its customers by increasing the number of machines, it is well-aware of the problems encountered by clients, Ephrem says. Network failure, due to service breakdown from the country's sole telecommunications service provider, ethio - telecom, and internal network problems, are the challenges faced by the CBE.
"Of course, our ATM services sometimes face interruption and most of the time this failure is attributed to ethio - telecom," agreed Estifanos Befekadu, who is head for Promotion Division at Dashen Bank.
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