The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday reached an agreement with the Bankers Committee on Friday Suspend the planned nationwide roll out of cashless policy.
According to the bankers, the new ation of the CBN in collaboration with banks, is to ensure that requisite infrastucture is out in place before the exercise to avoid operational hiccups as a result of the exercise.
The cashless Policy is running in five states of Lagos, Ogun, Anambra, Rivers and Kano plus Abuja.
According to Segun Oloketuyi, managing director/CEO Wema Bank plc , who addressed the financial media said while addressing the media after the Bankers Committee, “Apart from cash the banking sector has invested a lot of money in building infrastructure to enhance safe transactions on e-payment platform. For instance we have the mobile payment and it is working efficiently within and outside the country. We encourage all the customers to migrate a whole lot of their transactions to these platform because it guarantees safety of money”.
Segun Agbaje, managing director/CEO Guarantee Trust Bank plc, Mary Akpobema, managing director, Enterprise Bank limited, and Ibrahim, Mu’azu, director, corporate communication, CBN, also spoke to the media after the meeting.û
Agbaje who addressed the issukion domiciliary account as discussed by the committee said the operation of domiciliary account still remain very the same where a customer have vested access to his money.
“It means you can transfers money to and out of your domiciliary account without any restrictions. The only thing that is changed on domiciliary account is payment of cash dollar into your domiciliary account, every other thing remains the same in terms of operation of domiciliary account”, he said.
The committee also discussed issues bothering on delinquent debtors saying they have been receiving responses as they expect. They also agreed to follow up with sanctions to be meted on the directors of the firms that are published as delinquent debtors.
Tokunbo Martins, director, banking supervision, who was represented by Kolawole Balogun of CBN said the publication is not at the instance of the Central bank but at the instance of the bankers committee.
“Members agree that one way of ensuring delinquent loans are reduced in the financial system is to embark on name and shame strategy. It does not end there; there are sanctions that we are going to follow up on the directors of the companies owing this debt. These are market sanctions to ensure that their outstanding obligations are reduced”, he said.
