It is now two weeks since Martins Fanen, an employee of the Federal Polytechnic Wannune, Benue State, has been unable to withdraw the N20,000 in his Parallex Bank account.

FIJ learned that the amount was transferred to Fanen’s bank account on July 23, and all attempts to access the money, including submitting some documents to the bank, have been futile since then.

He told FIJ that he opened a current account with the bank online in June 2023. But, unknown to him, his account had become dormant because he had not used it for over a year.

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“On trying to access the money sent to me in July, I found out that the account has been made inactive without any advance warning as its obtainable with other banks or financial institutions,” Fanen said.

“Actually, I was yet to commence using it because I was trying to change my salary account on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), as a federal government staff,” he told FIJ.

The Benue resident also said he opened the Parallex Bank account after a friend recommended it for its favourable loan terms for salary earners. “I am currently using a wema bank account, which I opened seamlessly online without issues. Also, Wema bank has no branch in Benue,” he added.

When he notified the bank about his inability to access the fund, he was instructed to fill out a maintenance form and two reference forms, containing details of current account holders with any bank.

“I diligently forwarded all the needed documents without fuss via mail and app given there is no Parallex Bank branch in Benue yet.

“Since then, I have been kept on hold till date without reactivating the account.”

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Fanen, who is in severe financial difficulties, revealed that Parallex Bank attributed the delay in reactivating his account to the fact that his referees’ bank had not endorsed the forms he submitted.

When FIJ contacted the bank on Tuesday via a phone number listed on its website, Chris, a customer care agent, explained that the reactivation delay was due to pending confirmation of Fanen’s references.

She added: “Being a current account, it requires more documentation. And the customer cannot transact out of the account until the requirements have been fulfilled. However, the customer can deposit into the account.”