Thank you Meseret Media for bringing this issue to light. The banking sector has many deep rooted problem too often operating as if their only responsibility is to shareholders, not customers. The situation with Bank of Abyssinia shows this clearly: people’s money has been stuck for nearly two weeks with no proper communication or accountability.
What makes it worse is that even the National Bank’s consumer protection system is failing the people as well: the complaint email they put on the website is invalid(complaintoffice@nbe.gov.et) , and there is no clear channel for customers to seek help. How can the public trust the system when neither the banks nor the regulator communicate transparently?
Before forcing people to put their hard earned money into banks, the system should be reliable, transparent, and accountable. Customers should never be left helpless when their own money is withheld for weeks.
This column was necessary, and I appreciate Meseret Media for giving customers a voice when official institutions have not.
I am an avid reader of your column and wanted to share my perspective on a recent issue.
Based on my experience, this problem is not limited to a single bank—it appears to be affecting banks across the board. In fact, some have even removed the CBE application from their list. I’ve encountered the same issue with another private bank that I use.
For this reason, attributing the issue to one specific bank may not be entirely fair. I humbly suggest looking further into the matter by checking with other banks, and if possible, with the ET Switch system, to identify the root cause.
I understand your point, and it’s true that the banking sector may have wider system issues. However, the reason this situation is being discussed here is because Bank of Abyssinia customers themseves reported that their funds have been withheld for almost two weeks without proper communication, apology, or updates.
So this is not about unfairly attributing blame to one bank, it is simply reflecting the real experience of customers who came forward. Even if multiple banks are affected, each bank is responsible for informing and supporting its own customers, and that is where the concern lies.
Thank you Meseret Media for bringing this issue to light. The banking sector has many deep rooted problem too often operating as if their only responsibility is to shareholders, not customers. The situation with Bank of Abyssinia shows this clearly: people’s money has been stuck for nearly two weeks with no proper communication or accountability.
What makes it worse is that even the National Bank’s consumer protection system is failing the people as well: the complaint email they put on the website is invalid(complaintoffice@nbe.gov.et) , and there is no clear channel for customers to seek help. How can the public trust the system when neither the banks nor the regulator communicate transparently?
Before forcing people to put their hard earned money into banks, the system should be reliable, transparent, and accountable. Customers should never be left helpless when their own money is withheld for weeks.
This column was necessary, and I appreciate Meseret Media for giving customers a voice when official institutions have not.
Subject: Feedback on Recent Banking App Issue
Dear Team Meseret,
I am an avid reader of your column and wanted to share my perspective on a recent issue.
Based on my experience, this problem is not limited to a single bank—it appears to be affecting banks across the board. In fact, some have even removed the CBE application from their list. I’ve encountered the same issue with another private bank that I use.
For this reason, attributing the issue to one specific bank may not be entirely fair. I humbly suggest looking further into the matter by checking with other banks, and if possible, with the ET Switch system, to identify the root cause.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Best regards,
Yonas G
Dear Yonas,
I understand your point, and it’s true that the banking sector may have wider system issues. However, the reason this situation is being discussed here is because Bank of Abyssinia customers themseves reported that their funds have been withheld for almost two weeks without proper communication, apology, or updates.
So this is not about unfairly attributing blame to one bank, it is simply reflecting the real experience of customers who came forward. Even if multiple banks are affected, each bank is responsible for informing and supporting its own customers, and that is where the concern lies.
Tamirat
The same problem happening in oromiya international bank
ይሄ ነገር እኔጋ ብቻ መስሎኝ ነበር
ከሒሳቤ ተቀናሽ ሆኖ ላኩለት ሰው
ሰው ግን አልደረሰውም