Debit Card Maintenance Fee: Olumide Babalola Sues CBN, seeks Nullification of Fee.
Following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s circular to all banks and other financial institutions on Guide to Bank Charges which includes quarterly card maintenance fee of N50 for all savings accounts, Olumide Babalola, a Lagos-based legal practitioner has filed a suit against the Central Bank of Nigeria challenging the said Guide.
In the Suit with No. FHC/L/CS/2400/2019 filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos, the Plaintiff seeks the following orders against the Central Bank:
1. A DECLARATION the Defendant’s regulation for the charge of N50 quarterly card maintenance fee at page 20 of the “Re: Guide to Charges By Banks, Other Financial And Non-Bank Institutions” dated December 20, 2019 is in bad faith, not in the public interest, null and void.
2. AN ORDER setting aside Card Maintenance Fee as found at page 20 of the Defendant’s “Re: Guide to Charges By Banks, Other Financial And Non-Bank Institutions” dated December 20, 2019.
3. PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the Defendant and anyone claiming through them charging Card Maintenance Fee from the Plaintiff’s bank account on the basis of the Defendant’s “Re: Guide to Charges By Banks, Other Financial And Non-Bank Institutions” dated December 20, 2019.
4. Such other consequential Order (s) that this honourable court may deem fit to grant in the circumstance.
The Plaintiff claims, among other things that, the Card Maintenance Fee is against public interest and in bad faith since the cards remain in the custody of the bank account holders, hence the banks could not have been maintaining the cards remotely.
The suit is yet to be assigned to any judge at the time of filing this suit.
