An economist, Dr Chiwuike Uba, has urged the Federal and state governments to invest in the provision of stable electricity and telecommunication infrastructure for Nigerians to maximise the gains of cashless economy.
According to him, “Without the provision of these infrastructures, Nigerians and indeed the country will find it hard to reap enormous benefits from the cashless economy as obtained in developed countries,”
He spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Sunday on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) redesign of the naira, limit on cash withdrawal and electronic/cashless payment systems said it was important to raise the nation’s infrastructure base to enable the citizens benefit from the projects.
Uba, who is the Lead Researcher of Afri-Heriatge, an economic-political research and analytic institution, said the infrastructures necessary to effectively implement the policy, “are not currently in place in an adequate manner”.
He noted that in most cases, it takes months for banks to solve and reverse failed transactions due to very poor banking network and inter-bank connectivity issues.
According to him, the redesign of the naira and cash withdrawal limits are, without any doubt, good policies geared towards the migration of transactions from physical money to electronic money, noting that the short transitional period for the redesigning of the currency, while not the best strategy, could help prevent asset bubbles by slowing the flow of slush cash into the sector.
Uba said: “If well managed, digital and electronic transactions will create a better audit trail for tax, accounting and security.
“The infrastructures and platform necessary to effectively and efficiently implement the policy are not currently in place in an adequate manner.
“Market frictions and distortions and disruptions to electronic banking services (poor banking networks, unreliable electricity and telecommunications services) have not been addressed.”
The economist called on the CBN, banks and their agents to get involved in an immediate, aggressive and wide-spread awareness and education on the cashless policy and its enormous gains in rural localities in the country.
“This is imperative given the large and growing army of illiterates in Nigeria, appropriate awareness and education should have preceded the launch and implementation of the policy,” he added
