Gorvernor of the Central Bank Of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele has revealed all transactions on existing local bank cards must, therefore, be routed through the Nigerian National Domestic Card scheme which he officially unveiled on the 26th Janurary.
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Speaking at the virtual launch of the card scheme, the CBN governor pointed out that at a time when foreign exchange challenges had persisted globally, the central bank came up with the domestic card scheme to, “ensure that all card transactions, online transactions where you’re using cards will now effective immediately, begin to go on the Nigerian National Domestic Card system.”
He, however, clarified that the CBN’s effort was not to prevent international service providers from continuing to provide services in Nigeria. He further disclosed that the CBN would collaborate with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Nigerian banks, and other electronic payment operators.
The CBN governor insisted that while there was no preference for any particular domestic card, “we don’t need to have our domestic cards but most importantly is that we do not have foreign exchange, and we would bar payment of charges for domestic transactions from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market at some point in the very near future.”
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He said given the limited usage of cards by Nigerians and in a bid to deepen penetration, the central bank actively promoted the national domestic card scheme which would be accessible to all Nigerians and also address local peculiarities. He said the scheme represented an important plug in the gap that has remained with the system since the cashless policy was introduced.
The CBN governor assures that schemes implementation signaled another major step in the country’s drive toward achieving a thriving and competitive payments landscape in the country.