People heard by Lusa news agency appealed to the authorities to resolve the situation, which they consider "a suffering" for the Angolan people and "a lack of respect" for bank customers.
Lenin Jerónimo, who went on Wednesday to a "Multicaixa" terminal to withdraw some money, reported that since Monday he has been facing difficulties, due to the floods in the automatic teller machines (ATMs).
"I was in this same spot and it was very crowded last time and today the same thing is happening again," said Lenin Jeronimo, wondering what is at the root of the problem.
"I don't know what's going on either, nobody says anything and we're here in this suffering. There are people who leave their jobs to get some money and can't get it", he lamented, stressing that on Monday he arrived at noon and only managed to get the money at 4pm, "thank God".
For his part, Marcial Barros, a street vendor, stressed that the floods coincide with the time when public employees receive their salaries.
"When this phase arrives, the lines at the 'multicaixas' are constant, a person is able to stay from 40 minutes to an hour waiting for the withdrawal. There are a lot of people and there comes a phase when the banking system crashes and many leave here upset," he stressed.
According to Marcial Barros, "last Saturday, the city of Luanda ran out of money at the tellers, and there were many people from top to bottom [looking for money], it was like a war".
For the vendor, the banks should use another method to solve the population's problem, bearing in mind that at the branches there is a daily withdrawal limit of up to 100,000 kwanzas.
"So many withdraw that amount at the counter and resort to the 'multicaixas' to supply their needs," he added.
Eduardo António, visibly upset with the situation, considered that the problem "has been constant" and "a great inconvenience".
"Whenever the month ends, the salaries are deposited in our accounts, to withdraw 1,000 kwanzas is just difficult," he said, because people go to an ATM and find cash machines without money or out of order.
"You have to travel so many kilometers, 10 or 15, looking for it. You go there, there is none, you go to another ATM and end up exhausted and without a kwanza," he criticized.
The situation, added Eduardo António, has even caused problems at the labor level, since many times people are absent due to the time they take away from their work stations.
"For us, who are public employees, we have to ask our bosses to give us 10 to 15 minutes off work to go to the ATM, we end up doing two or three hours, and then we find a lack of work", he exemplified, lamenting as well the lack of explanations from those in charge about what is going on.
"I don't know what better way they can use to make the citizen's life easier," he said.
According to Eduardo António, the agglomerations that are seen in the 'multicaixas', visible throughout the capital, go against the appeals that the health authorities have made for the prevention of covid-19.
"Imagine that we have had appeals to avoid the agglomerations, but they make it happen, you find floods of 50 to 100 people. How do you avoid the crowds? It's impossible. Something has to be done," she stressed.
Joaquina Lourenço also went Wednesday to an ATM for a withdrawal, after having already tried during the weekend and the last two days.
"It has always occurred at the end of the months, when there are salary payments, there are constraints for people who have their salaries in the banks to withdraw their money," he opined.
For the civil servant, this is "a lack of respect for the bank customer," who is forced to move from one neighborhood to another.
"There are cases in which it is even necessary to take a cab. I live in [the] Prenda neighborhood and I've already driven all around Prenda, Zamba II, to get here in [Largo] Primeiro de Maio to withdraw cash. It has always happened, every month end", he indicated.
Joaquim Caniço, executive director of EMIS - Empresa Interbancária de Serviços, which manages the Multicaixa network, told Lusa that there have been no malfunctions in the operation of the cash registers, so it is a matter of logistics which is the responsibility of the banks.
"EMIS, as the manager of the Multicaixa network, is responsible for its proper operation and security. The logistics for loading banknotes and paper are the banks' responsibility, although there are monitoring protocols between them and EMIS in order to know and inform the availability status of each ATM at a given moment", he justified.
The EMIS official pointed out that the demand for cash is accentuated at the end of each month due to the payment of salaries and pensions, and consequently, the logistical efforts of the banks.
"We should remember that this is not the way forward, but rather the way of electronic payments, although it is recognized that cash will always be used. The intention is that it will be on a smaller scale than at present," he stressed.
Lusa addressed several questions to the National Bank of Angola (BNA), but did not get a response so far.
However, the BNA released on Wednesday night, on its website, information regarding the widespread use of Multicaixa network cards for payments, highlighting that this has been growing.
"Meanwhile, it has been recurrent at the end and beginning of each month, at the time of payment of salaries, the concentration of citizens at the branches of the commercial banking network to consult account balances and withdraw cash," indicates the BNA, adding that in the current context of pandemic additional care should be observed and appealing, whenever possible, to avoid going to the bank in the days immediately following the payment of salaries.
"The movement with commercial banks is particularly intense in the last and first week of each month," he highlights.
In addition to recommending the use of the multi-cash card for payments in commercial establishments, the BNA advises merchants to install automatic payment terminals, access to which has been facilitated for small traders, through the 'Simplified Account for Commercial Purposes'.
The BNA also urges banks "with limited capillarity" to hire 'Banking Agents' to support small withdrawal needs.
