Professor of Law and Economics of Energy, Tayo Bellohas warned that the CBN Cashless Policy It will dampen economic activities, especially in rural Nigeria.
Bello, who spoke to Nairametrics, said most rural communities in Nigeria do not have the proper infrastructure to support a cashless policy at the moment.
The obstacles: Bello listed inadequate power supply and poor grid services as obstacles to the policy working.
He added that the rural economy relies on physical cash as a medium of exchange to do business, stressing that the daily cash withdrawal of N20,000 will not support businesses.
In addition, Bello recalled that India tried the same exercise but failed. He stated that Nigeria is an agrarian society where most people have no alternative to cash transactions.
More concerns: Also speaking with Nairametrics, Ayomide Oduode, a POS operator, expressed fear that the new policy could bankrupt POS operators. He said the policy will delegate the services of POS operators to individuals, just as phone operators and recharge card vendors are going out of business as people can recharge their phones from their bank.
A chicken vendor, who trades in the Ojo local government area of Lagos, who asked to remain anonymous, said she cannot imagine accepting and making transfers for every transaction of the day.
She said that currently, many transfer transactions fail. She said that Nigeria is not ready for politics yet.
Suggested path to follow: Dr. Nelson Nkwo, who teaches at Ebonyi State University, said he does not support the policy. And his reservations stem from the possible impacts he could have on people. To prevent these potential negative impacts, Dr. Nkwo suggested the need for more awareness to sensitize people to the feasibility and merits of the policy. He said:
- “I don’t support the cashless policy right now because the country is not yet ripe for it; we need more time to sensitize people and make sure that communication facilities are available. We don’t need to make policies and laws just because we have the power.
- “We must ensure that the poorest of the poor are taken into account when making laws. This policy should have gone into effect approximately one year later than now, or the guidance should have started one year earlier than now. We have to look at other relevant laws that underlie this money laundering law,added.
CBN Cashless Policy: Under the new withdrawal policy, the CBN restricts the maximum weekly cash-over-the-counter (OTC) withdrawal by corporate organizations and individuals to N500,000 and N100,000, respectively. It is subject to a maximum daily cash withdrawal of N20,000 for individuals.
The policy, which is expected to go into effect on January 9, 2023, is drawing criticism from some members of the public, especially merchants and point-of-sale operators. However, CBN clarified last Wednesday that PoS operators could apply for exemptions.