United Bank for Africa does a 180 on credit card block

Adverse customer reaction to debit and credit card bans on selected products persuades the bank to abandon controversial blocks.

It only took a day for customer protests in volume to persuade Nigeria’s United Bank for Africa to hastily lift its ban on the use of its debit and credit cards in online gambling and other transactions this week.

The ban was unilaterally announced by the bank and targeted selected categories of business that included online gambling; it quickly triggered a strong negative reaction and criticism from many of the bank’s clients, persuading chief operating officer Chukwuma Nweke to issue a statement within a day advising:

“We recently sent you correspondence indicating that your cards would be protected from certain risky sites. We have listened to you and have heard that this is not in line with your expectations. We have immediately made adjustments accordingly.

“Please be informed that all sites have been unblocked and you can now transact on any platform globally that you would like to whilst we continue to provide surveillance on some high risk activity points to protect your transactions.”

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