Financial Inclusion: CBN Formerly Launch National Domestic Card Scheme

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday formerly launched the National Domestic Card Scheme, aimed at further deepening financial inclusion in the domestic economy.

The National Domestic Card Scheme which was a synergy with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), apart from aiding the cash-less policy drive of the government will amongst other take care of local peculiarities, be cost effective and competitive.

Speaking at launch, the governor of CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele said the launch was a further step in enhancing the Cash-less policy drive of government and it’s national payments infrastructure scheme.

According to him, the Cash-less Policy which commenced in 2012, signposts the apex bank common drive to strengthen the national payment system and deepen the usage of electronic platforms in Nigeria.

He said that, In line with the National Payments System Strategy, the CBN has been deliberate in collaborating with relevant stakeholders to enhance the national payments infrastructure through initiatives such as the Bank Verification Number (BVN), Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS), Shared Agent Network Facility (SANEF), Regulatory Sandbox, Open banking and the eNaira, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Digital Currency, to mention a few.

He noted that, the CBN has also over time focused attention on robust development of financial service touch points including the ATMs, POS terminals and agent networks. The success of the Shared Agent Network Expansion Facility has led to growth in the number of agents to about 1.5 million across the Federation with the capacity to accept card payments from Nigerians.

“Whilst the penetration of card payments in Nigeria has grown tremendously over the years, many Nigerians are still excluded. The challenges that have limited the inclusion of Nigerians include the high cost of card services as a result of foreign exchange requirements of international card schemes and the fact that existing card products do not address local peculiarities of the Nigerian market.”

“Given the limited usage of cards by Nigerians and in a bid to deepen penetration, the Bank actively promoted the National domestic card scheme which will be accessible to all Nigerians and also address our local peculiarities.

“This Scheme is therefore an important plug in the gap that has remained with us since the cash-less policy was introduced.It is important to note that the establishment of National Domestic Card Schemes is in line with global trends. Nigeria, by this initiative, will therefore be joining countries like China, Russia, Turkey and India who have launched domestic card schemes and harnessed the transformative benefits for their respective payments and financial systems, particularly for the underbanked.

“This effort is not a quest to prevent international service providers from continuing to provide services in Nigeria. Rather, it is aimed at providing more options for domestic consumers whilst also promoting the delivery of services in a more innovative, cost effective and competitive manner.

“The Nigerian market is vast, and the current participants have done so much in the last twelve years to transform the ecosystem. Yet there is much ground to be covered as millions of Nigerians are yet without payments cards to consummate transactions.I am convinced that the National Domestic Card Scheme will make this a reality in the coming months. We can no longer neglect the vast majority of the Nigerians whose daily payments needs are micropayments. We need to capture them in national statistics to further understand their transaction dynamics and properly target interventions in that sector of the economy.Indeed, the National Domestic Card Scheme bodes opportunities for our economy to integrate the informal segment of our economy, reduce shadow banking, bring more Nigerians into the formal financial services with attendant diversification of deposit portfolio which will further strengthen the stability of the banking industry”, he added.