The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee on Monday carried out an awareness and sensitisation campaign on cashless policy and eNaira for traders in Calabar Municipal Council and its environment.
The awareness campaign featured a popular Nollywood actor, Imeh Bishop-Umoh, popularly called “Okon Lagos.”
The Nollywood actor, who spoke largely in Efik, urged the traders to embrace the electronic means of payment with a view to reducing the movement of cash and making transactions seamless.
Chidima Okafor, manager of Keystone Bank said, “What we are doing today, CBN and the Bankers Committee representing all the Commercial Banks in Nigeria are trying to create awareness for traders to use alternative payment channels available.
“We have done this exercise in Kano and Akure the Ondo State capital and Calabar is the third location.”
Also speaking, Chika Ugwueze, assistant director, Payment System Management, CBN, said the campaign was carried out to sensitise the people on the CBN’s cashless policy as an alternative to cash usage in Nigeria.
Ugwueze said that the CBN initiated the eNaira platform as an alternative to cash.
He explained that the eNaira was a digital form of cash that is stored in a wallet, hence all Nigerians are advised to download and use the eNaira as an alternative to cash.
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“The important message to all Nigerians is that the eNaira is not an alternative to your bank account, but an alternative to cash in your wallet because it offers efficiency in payment and improves security.
“Generally, the eNaira has helped to deepens the payment options in the market. The CBN has developed different platforms of using the e-naira.
“As long as you have a telephone in Nigeria, you can have access to the eNaira
“There is no deadline for going cashless; we are just presenting options that will widen payment platforms and make them available for Nigerians,” he said.
Also speaking, Thomas Udie, Relationship Manager, Access Bank, Calabar, said that the initiative was to create awareness on the cashless policy and eNaira.
Udie said that there was a need for traders and residents in the state to embrace the different platforms of electronic transactions with a view to reduce the movement of cash.
According to him, Access Bank branches in Calabar have no issue with cash disbursement to customers, adding that the CBN has been supplying them with cash for business.
He added that the queues in most of the Access Bank branches in Calabar metropolis have also reduced.
Also, Ebere Bassey, assistant Banking Officer, Zenith Bank, Calabar, said that the awareness was timely in view of the cashless policy of the CBN.
Bassey encouraged the traders to embrace the electronic means of payment and reduce the over dependence on cash.
One of the traders at the event, Theresa Okon, who sells fresh tomatoes, said that although the policy was a good one, they still needed cash for their day-to-day transactions.
