The National President of the Nigerian Association
of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Halhaji Saratu
Iya Aliyu, has appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to delay the
penalty attached to the cashless policy in order to give time for the current
policy of mobile money to take firm root before the full implementation of the
cashless programme.
NACCIMA is the umbrella body of city and bilateral
chambers in Nigeria.
Aliyu ,who spoke exclusively to THISDAY on Wednesday,
said her appeal to delay the penalty became necessary when viewed against the
backdrop of the negative fallouts in the
semi-urban and rural areas where there are no banks and or connectivity
infrastructure to support online transactions, adding that such might encourage
people to keep more cash in hand with its attendant risks.
Mobile money is a payment solution that enables
people to pay for goods and services with their mobile phones. A number of
providers have already been licenced by the CBN to offer mobile money in the
country as part of the cashless policy.
According to a CBN circular, a 3 percent processing
fee is charged for withdrawals of amounts above N500, 000 for individual
accounts and 2 percent for deposits. For corporate accounts, a processing fee
of 5 percent is charged for withdrawals and 3 percent for deposits of amounts
above N3 million.
The CBN directed that implementation of the policy should
commence from September 18 in Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Abia, Anambra and Rivers States
as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The nationwide implementation
of the policy would take effect from March 31, 2020.
NACCIMA President, however, said: “Considering the
fact that over 70 per cent of the economy is in the informal sector, which
operates as individuals, this new cashless policy will likely enhance the
financial inclusion policy of the government as more individuals will open
corporate accounts so as to be able to transact with higher amounts of cash
between N500, 000 and N3million without any charge.
“The negative fallout of this is in the semi-urban
and rural areas where there are no banks and/or connectivity infrastructure to
support online transactions. This might encourage people to keep more cash in
hand with its attendant risks.
“NACCIMA, therefore, appeals to the CBN to delay
the implementation of the penalty attached to the policy in order to give time
to allow the current policy of mobile money to take root firmly before the full
implementation of the cashless policy.”
The governor of CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, while
briefing journalists on September 20, 2019, said the implementation of the
policy would continue as announced despite the House of Representatives call to
suspend it.
Debunking the claims that many Nigerians would
suffer the negative impact of the policy, Emefiele said only about five to 10
percent of bank customers would be affected by the policy.
The CBN governor added that a payment system that
encourages the use of non-cash channels was desirable if Nigeria wishes to
compete with the economy of developed countries.
He said the policy was first introduced in 2012, adding
that a lot of stakeholder’s engagements were done to sensitise Nigerians on its
benefits.
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