Moghalu, Oti, Ajayi, others see future in cashless Nigeria, despite challenges

Ahead of the July 1, 2014 date for the total implementation of the cashless policy across the country, the phase one of which began in Lagos on January 1, 2012, stakeholders on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted for the innovation, insisting that despite some challenges, the benefits are innumerable.

The observation was made at a one-day seminar organised by Wilson & Weizmann Associates, in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Speakers at the event with the theme, ‘Cashless Nigeria: Progress, Issues and Prospects’ were Kingsley Moghalu, deputy governor, operations directorate, CBN; Alex Oti, managing director, Diamond Bank Plc; ownersBismarck Rewane, managing director, Financial Derivative Company Ltd; Femi Ajayi, director-general, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA); Mark Smith, business development director (Africa), Travelex Group; Gudson Evulukwu, vice chairman, Travelex representative office (Nig) Group, and Chidi Amuta, CEO, Wilson & Weizmann Associates Ltd.

Kingsley Moghalu, who was represented by Aaron Yaduma, principal manager, shared services office, CBN, said the policy was introduced for a number of key reasons, which he listed as need to “meet Vision 20:2020 requirement, modernise Nigeria’s payment system, reduce the cost of banking services (cost of credit), drive financial inclusion, improve effectiveness of monetary policy reduce high security and safety risks, reduce high subsidy (10% vs 90%) and foster transparency and curb corruption/leakages.”

The CBN deputy governor, operations, who spoke on ‘Cashless Nigeria: Progress, Issues and Prospects’, noted that “the cashless Nigeria has gained traction especially with support from the Federal Government and Lagos State. The pilot was adjudged as largely successful by four independent evaluators and we are all living witnesses to the new order in Lagos State.”

Soliciting the cooperation of all stakeholders, Moghalu said: “Today, we have embarked on a journey to reposition our financial system to address current challenges faced and transform Nigeria into a first world economy.”

In his paper, presented on his behalf by Caroline Anyan stemwu, deputy managing director, Diamond Bank Plc, Alex Oti observed that telecommunications was the major challenge hindering the smooth running of the e-banking platform in the country.
“We know that there are challenges, but the question to ask is, where do we start from, why do we have the cashless policy, of what value is it to us? The policy helps both the banks and the customers, because you are exposed to a lot of risks when you carry money about. These risks are highly reduced when you do cashless,” he said.
Oti, who expressed optimism, however, said that the minor hitches experienced in the full implementation of the policy would be eventually removed.
In his presentation, Mark Smith urged the CBN not to be in a haste to go full blown with the policy.

ZEBULON AGOMUO