The Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN) has expressed its concerns to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regarding the increasing deductions from customer accounts, particularly the recent shift towards end-user billing for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services. BCAN argues that these charges fall outside the approved framework established by the CBN. This concern was voiced by BCAN President, Uju Ogubunka, at the 2025 Artificial Intelligence conference, where he warned that customer dissatisfaction could escalate into public demands for action if the CBN fails to address the issue. Ogubunka highlighted the widespread customer dissatisfaction within the Nigerian banking system, evidenced by numerous petitions and legal actions, emphasizing that true customer satisfaction remains elusive. He suggested that the effective application of artificial intelligence (AI) could significantly alleviate these customer pain points.
The conference, themed “Power of AI: Enhancing Efficiency and Customer Satisfaction for Better Financial Services Experience,” showcased the potential of AI to revolutionize the banking sector. Ogubunka argued that the prevalence of customer complaints underscores the gap between the promise of AI and its current implementation in Nigerian banking. He posited that if AI were truly integrated into the banking system, many of the issues causing customer dissatisfaction would be resolved. This points to a need for a more robust and customer-centric approach to AI deployment in the financial services industry. The discussions at the conference underscored the urgency for banks to move beyond the theoretical benefits of AI and translate its potential into tangible improvements in customer experience.
Keynote speaker Johnson Chukwu elaborated on the transformative potential of AI in finance, highlighting its role in consumer credit, personalized services, and faster complaint resolution. He explained how AI algorithms analyze customer data, including spending habits and income levels, to automate loan approvals, enabling quick access to credit tailored to individual financial capacities. This data-driven approach streamlines lending processes and expands access to credit for consumers. Chukwu emphasized the power of AI in enhancing customer experience through personalized services, where each customer is treated as an individual rather than part of a homogenous group. This level of personalization, made possible by AI’s ability to analyze vast amounts of individual customer data, leads to more relevant product offerings and targeted solutions.
Furthermore, Chukwu explained how AI can dramatically improve complaint resolution by leveraging its access to extensive customer data. The system can quickly identify the root cause of a complaint and suggest the most effective solutions, leading to quicker and more satisfactory outcomes for customers. He also highlighted the importance of a comprehensive approach to AI implementation, outlining seven key factors: Capacity, Capability, Collaboration, Creativity, Cognition, Continuity, and Control. These factors, he argued, are essential for successful AI integration and underscore the need for a strategic and holistic approach to leveraging this technology. Chukwu concluded by emphasizing the transformative power of AI, predicting that companies failing to adopt AI will not only lose their competitive edge but also risk becoming obsolete in the near future.
The conference highlighted the dual nature of the current state of AI in Nigerian banking. While the technology holds immense promise for enhancing customer service and streamlining operations, its actual implementation has yet to fully realize this potential. BCAN’s concerns about continuing customer dissatisfaction, despite the promises of AI, underscore the need for a more focused and customer-centric approach to AI deployment. The discussions emphasized the urgency for banks to bridge the gap between the theoretical benefits of AI and its practical application in improving the customer experience. The issues raised by BCAN and the solutions offered by experts like Chukwu highlight the significant potential of AI to reshape the financial landscape in Nigeria.
The successful integration of AI into the banking sector requires a strategic and comprehensive approach, encompassing not only technological capabilities but also a clear focus on customer needs and expectations. The discussions at the conference served as a call to action for banks to prioritize customer satisfaction and utilize AI as a tool to achieve it. The future of banking in Nigeria, and globally, is likely to be heavily influenced by the effective deployment of AI, making its successful integration a crucial factor for continued growth and competitiveness. The challenge for banks lies in harnessing the power of AI to not only improve efficiency and profitability but also to enhance the customer experience and address the very real concerns expressed by organizations like BCAN.
