—Postpones withdrawal charges in 30 states
By Amaka Ifeakandu
Lagos
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is set to roll out the phase three of the cashless policy across the country.
In its notification to all stakeholders and the general public, the apex bank said the implementation of the initiative would commence as scheduled on July 1, 2014, in the remaining 30 states of the federation.
A statement issued by Mr Isaac Okorafor on behalf of the Director, Corporate Communication, the CBN said it has has successfully completed phases one and two of the cashless policy in six pilot states and the Federal Capital Territory.
It, however, said that as it was the case in the pilot states, a one-year waiver has been granted on the application of withdrawal charges in the 30 states slated for rollout in phase three.
This, according to the bank, indicated that withdrawal charges would continue to apply to transactions above the specified limits in Abia, Anambra, Lagos, Ogun, Kano, and Rivers states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
It said: “Therefore, charges on withdrawals for both individual and corporate account holders will only take effect in the 30 states from July 1, 2015.
“This waiver is to allow ample time for the deployment of adequate infrastructure needed to support the policy, as well as additional sensitisation of various stakeholders on the merits of the policy.”
The CBN urged all financial institutions and the general public to take note of the new development.
The cashless policy was introdued by the apex bank to drive development and modernisation of the nation’s payment system in line with Nigeria’s Vision 2020 goal of being amongst the top 20 economies by the year 2020.
It was also designed to have an efficient and modern payment system which is positively correlated with economic development, and is a key enabler for economic growth, to reduce the cost of banking services (including cost of credit) and drive financial inclusion by providing more efficient transaction options and greater reach.
The apex bank also said that policy aimed to improve the effectiveness of monetary policy in managing inflation and driving economic growth.
