A request to the big banks for statistics on how often their automatic teller machine (ATM) networks experience major problems is answered reluctantly, in most cases.
Bank customers will accept that a single ATM can be closed for specific reasons because thieves have jammed it, it has run out of money, or Telkom lines are down.
But when customers travel between several of their own bank's ATMs and find that they are all closed, they know there is a serious problem.
The promptest response to the question of how much ATM downtime each bank experiences came from Standard Bank. It said it has experienced two significant national computer downtimes in the past year: one on December 2, 1996 and one on March 1, this year.
The worst response came from Absa. Four days and several telephone calls after questions were faxed to Absa, a spokesperson said Absa "has never disclosed this information".
Several years ago Absa grappled with the problems of merging Allied and United's computer systems and it is currently integrating the Volkskas and Trust Bank systems. It would not be surprising if this was causing problems.
The Absa spokesperson said Absa has invested millions of rands in a stand-in system which is currently being installed and should be in place by the end of the year.
First National Bank has a back-up system which usually takes over national ATMs within minutes of a mainframe failure, a spokesperson said. It only had two major computer problems in the past year when the back-up system did not take over, both resulting in downtime of less than an hour.
Nedcor Bank had three incidents in the past year: in April this year, a 35-minute ATM downtime in Durban; a four-day problem in the East Rand in March/April owing to cable theft which affected all banks and businesses in the area (not mentioned by the other banks); and a 20-minute failure of Nedcor Bank's national network in June. The bank also has a stand-in system.
One of the indications of a bank's ATM efficiency compared to its competitors is the volume of business it picks up on Saswitch. A Standard Bank spokesman said it was by far the largest revenue generator on Saswitch of all the member banks. Using another measurement, Nedcor Bank said in the past 18 months it had emerged as the number one Saswitch-linked institution both as an authoriser and as a terminal owner.
When bank customers struggle to draw money from their home bank's ATMs they have two options draw money at other banks' ATMs via the Saswitch network, or draw over the counter at the bank branch, if possible.
As an example of the extra costs, a Standard Bank ATM withdrawal costs R1,70, a Saswitch withdrawal R4,20 and a bank branch withdrawal R6. At Absa banks, cheque account withdrawals at Absa ATMs cost R1,60, Saswitch withdrawals R3,75 and bank teller withdrawals R5,70.
Customers may well wonder whether they are entitled to compensation, if their own bank cannot offer a satisfactory ATM service.
For example, could customers request the bank teller to charge only R1,60 or R1,70 for a cash withdrawal rather than R5,70 or R6 when the ATM system is down? Or take the Saswitch slip, showing the time the withdrawal took place, into the bank to claim back the extra R2 that had been incurred?
Absa's spokesperson said simply that Absa does not compensate for the extra expense "because you have a choice". Nedcor Bank's response was similar. Other banks' spokespersons suggested clients approach their bank managers, if they felt really aggrieved.