ATM Problem: Card, No Usable App

Posted by Felix Okoli on Monday February 8, 2016 at 9:0:42:

I recently tried to use my Naira debit Mastercard to withdraw money from an ATM and I got an error saying, "Card, No Usable App". I don't really understand what it means but I do hope I don't have to apply to get another card at my bank.

Getting and using a debit card in Nigeria can be troubling because first of all you have to apply for it and wait for about 2 weeks to get it after which N1000 will be debited to your account. Besides, the fact that I have to physically visit my bank and meet bank staff can be stressful and time consuming as it's not something I regularly do since i use more of online banking services.

The first reason why I got the Naira debit card was because I wanted a card linked t my bank account that I coudl use anywhere n the world for making withdrawals as well as online payment. It has been useful for me when shopping on Aliexpress and Amazon but lately, CBN has stopped the use of Naira debit cards abroad even if they were branded by Mastercard and so I was stuck with making local payments.

Now that the card is not even able to make a withdrawal from an ATM, I'm beginning to wonder why I still have to bother myself to keep using this card. It's not the only card I have since one has to have about 2 or 3 bank accounts in Nigeria so as not to get stuck but it's a card that is linked to my account that has the most funds.

I've had many bad experiences with using my Naira debit card in Nigeria such as on ATMs as I've received error messages such as "Card not smart" or "Financial institution not available" but this is the first time I'm getting the error "Card no usable app". Does it mean that my card is dead or their ATM is dead? Do I have to apply to get a new card? Did the bank disable my card from their own end?

I'm not exactly sure why this happened and I'm getting tired of this whole issue of going to the bank just because I have card problems. I'm contemplating getting a physical token so that I can use it with my internet banking service to do online transfers rather than stick to using their debit cards. One thing I've noticed about Nigerian issued debit cards is that they don't always last as long as their validity period says and so even if the card validity period is 2 years, you may end up seeing that your card has developed some problems before a year runs out. I remember a card I had with another bank that I had to make new requests for after every 6 months and I got charged for it even though I rarely use the card.

The thing is that I get the error message each time I slot the card into an ATM and the ATM automatically ejects the card after showing that error. Is it my fault that the card was not accepted? If I were to be issued a new card, who is going to get charged for it?

Update: I initially decided to visit my bank physically but I later called my bank to ask them why my card was not working and they said that my card has been blocked and that I should apply for a new card. I asked them why my card was blocked and they said they thought I called them which I said that I didn't. I also asked them if I was going to be charged for the new card and they said yes. I was a bit angry and decided that I was going to first make a withdrawal at my bank using the old school teller and signature method and later make a complaint as to why my card was blocked in the first place. I'm not interested in getting another ATM card from the bank yet since I have another one from another bank. Nigerian banks can be frustrating at times and yet they pay no compensation to customers for their time and energy they wasted because of their poor services. It's not the N1000 that I was going to be charged that I'm avoiding but it's the unjust way they are trying to charge me for it because I didn't tell them to block my card.