Cashless policy: Experts charge CBN, commercial banks on ICT

ICT experts say that expansion of the nation’s digital infrastructure ahead of the Dec. 31 deadline for the transition to redesigned naira notes was key to the implementation of the cashless policy.

It was recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed that the N200, N500, and N1000 should cease to be legal tenders on April 10.

However, a group of governors challenged the directive in court, and consequently, the Supreme Court, in a March 3 ruling, extended the validity deadline to Dec. 31.

The experts cautioned that the chaos witnessed nationwide earlier this year in the banking sector would repeat itself if urgent steps were not taken to expand the ICT infrastructure.

Some Nigerians who spoke to the correspondent urged the Federal Government and commercial banks to expand the country’s ICT infrastructure for the effective implementation of the targeted cashless policy.

Dr. Okwara Udensi, Chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Edo/Delta Branch, said that the cashless policy would be effective if the electronic payment system were made to function effectively.

“People have lost confidence in the cashless policy because of the issues of delayed and failed transactions."

“E-channels should be made effective; we are almost there because microbusinesses are now adopting cashless means of transactions, but the e-channel of payment is not effective.

“Banks should also reverse failed transactions instead of waiting for customers to go and file complaints at their offices," he said.

Similarly, Mr. Ibrahim Ode, an ICT consultant, said in Lafia that with the right internet infrastructure, Nigeria would join the community of nations where key services, not just banking, have been digitalized.

“We all need to support it since everybody is using handsets, smart phones, and in every smartphone there is integration of internet service."

“The whole world is looking at having a system that is fully digitalized, and digitalization will result in cashless services,” he said.

Also speaking, Mrs. Rhone Peters, Coordinator, Edo Export Cluster, said micro, small, and medium-scale businesses are gradually keying into the policy.

She called on banks to beef up their internet facilities to ensure a seamless transition to the cashless regime.

Mr. Mustapha Kabara, a lecturer at the Department of Economics and Development Studies, Federal University, Kashere, Gombe State, told NAN that a lack of ICT infrastructure was a major threat to the effective implementation of the policy.

“ICT infrastructure is a key component that cannot be undermined because the issues of automated teller machines (ATMs), internet banking, and point-of-sale (PoS) are all ICT-related.

"If the ICT infrastructure is not functioning well, other components of the cashless policy will not work,” he said.

“The ICT industry is not mature yet." The service providers are still learning, and there is room for improvement going forward, just as in developed economies.

“The service providers and drivers of the cashless policy should improve the system before people start losing confidence in the entire system," he said.

Also, a Dutse-based ICT expert, Isa Uzairu, urged the federal government to ensure the provision of strong, stable, and fast internet facilities to fast-track the implementation of the cashless policy.

"Fundamentally, ICT has to do with message, source, medium, protocol, and receiver."

“So in the banking system, ICT applies to when one deposits money (the sender), the bank (the medium), and a third party (the receiver).

“ICT has a vital role to play in cashless policy." The cashless policy is for all countries, not just Nigeria. "All developed countries use this cashless policy,” he said.

According to him, ICT, with good internet facilities, will enhance the fortunes of Nigeria’s banking sector.

Another ICT expert, Ibrahim Bashir, urged the CBN to compel commercial banks to subscribe directly to satellite companies for effective service delivery.

Bashir also urged commercial banks to decentralize the operations of their IT units.

This, he said, would address problems associated with failed e-transactions.

“By doing so, the banks will address problems as they occur at branch level, as opposed to the current practice of referring such malfunctions to their headquarters”, he said.

Another ICT expert, Abdullahi Muhammad, advised Nigerian banks and mobile telecommunication companies to improve their information technology capacity to ease the challenges faced by customers.

Muhammad said it was unfortunate that Nigerians were going through difficult times as the cashless policy was being implemented.

“When there is pressure right from the internet service provider, there will be an overload, leading to a poor network and a crash.

“For the banks to successfully implement a cashless economy, the Nigerian government must invest heavily in the provision of stable power and telecommunication infrastructure,” he said.