Yemisi Izuora
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has said that the National Domestic Card Scheme provided huge opportunities for the economy particularly to integrate the informal segment of the economy, reduce shadow banking, bring more Nigerians into the formal financial services with attendant diversification of deposit portfolio which will further strengthen the stability of the banking industry.
Speaking at the launch of the Card, Governor of the Bank, Godwin Emefiele, stated that given the limited usage of cards by Nigerians and in a bid to deepen penetration, the Bank actively promoted the National domestic card scheme which will be accessible to all Nigerians and also address our local peculiarities.
This Scheme he said is an important plug in the gap that has remained with us since the cash-less policy was introduced.
Emefiele further said, “It is important to note that the establishment of National Domestic Card Schemes is in line with global trends. Nigeria, by this initiative, will therefore be joining countries like China, Russia, Turkey and India who have launched domestic card schemes and harnessed the transformative benefits for their respective payments and financial systems, particularly for the underbanked.”
The Governor also noted that the effort is not a quest to prevent international service providers from continuing to provide services in Nigeria, rather it is aimed at providing more options for domestic consumers whilst also promoting the delivery of services in a more innovative, cost effective and competitive manner.
According to him, “The CBN is committed to a robust, efficient and safe national payments system and welcomes innovation from both domestic firms and foreign investors. The Nigerian market is vast, and the current participants have done so much in the last twelve years to transform the ecosystem. Yet there is much ground to be covered as millions of Nigerians are yet without payments cards to consummate transactions.”
He expressed the conviction that the National Domestic Card Scheme will make this a reality in the coming months, adding, “We can no longer neglect the vast majority of the Nigerians whose daily payments needs are micropayments. We need to capture them in national statistics to further understand their transaction dynamics and properly target interventions in that sector of the economy.”
He described the event as epoch-making which signals another major step in the drive to ensuring a thriving and competitive payments landscape in Nigeria.
Emefiele said he was indeed most gratified that the Nigerian Banking Community has risen up to the challenge of further strengthening the national payments system through the implementation of a Domestic Card Scheme.
He said further, “The Cash-less Policy which commenced in 2012, signposts our common drive to strengthen the national payment system and deepen the usage of electronic platforms in Nigeria. In line with the National Payments System Strategy, the CBN has been deliberate in collaborating with relevant stakeholders to enhance the national payments infrastructure through initiatives such as the Bank Verification Number (BVN), Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS), Shared Agent Network Facility (SANEF), Regulatory Sandbox, Open banking and the eNaira, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Digital Currency, to mention a few.”
He noted that the Cash-less Policy has created value, engendered competition and attracted investment into the Nigerian banking and payments ecosystem, pointing “We have witnessed the proliferation of products, channels and participants with significantly increased foreign direct investments into the Nigerian payments space.”
The CBN he stressed has also over time focused attention on robust development of financial service touchpoints including the ATMs, POS terminals and agent networks. The success of the Shared Agent Network Expansion Facility has led to growth in the number of agents to about 1.5 million across the Federation with the capacity to accept card payments from Nigerian.
“Whilst the penetration of card payments in Nigeria has grown tremendously over the years, many Nigerians are still excluded. The challenges that have limited the inclusion of Nigerians include the high cost of card services as a result of foreign exchange requirements of international card schemes and the fact that existing card products do not address local peculiarities of the Nigerian market.” said Emefiele.
He reiterated that the National Domestic Card Scheme is another collaborative effort of payment ecosystem stakeholders in Nigeria for the greater benefit of all Nigerians.
