Amaka Obiefuna

Following the countless failed online transactions presently endemic in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, has apologised to Nigerians, acknowledging it has, indeed, dealt a devastating blow on the government’s ongoing cashless policy.

The CBN governor made the appeal at the end of the two-day Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.

Recall that since the implementation of the naira redesign policy and subsequent cash shortage, Nigerians have had a horrible time experiencing successful banking transactions made through their mobile apps, USSD platforms and debit cards.

Pursuant to this, Emefiele said the apex bank’s Payments System Management Department had been making efforts to ensure that downtime on electronic banking channels were quickly resolved, urging citizens to exercise a little patience.

“I must apologise. Yes, online channels fail. But, no doubt, it is as a result of the deluge of online transactions that hit the banking industry. But it is being resolved,” Emefiele promised.

“On a daily basis, our Payments System Management Department monitors the online payment platforms so as to make sure that when there is a downtime, they are quickly resolved so that transactions can go on smoothly.”

He also praised fintechs for facilitating smooth transactions for Nigerians by reducing the strain on traditional banks.

On money supply, Emefiele said the implementation of the naira redesign policy has resulted in the reduction in currency outside the banks.

“At the beginning of the naira redesign policy, we said that there was about N3.23 trillion in circulation out of which only N500 billion was held in the banking system, while N2.73 trillion was outside the banks,” the CBN governor further informed.

“It was published yesterday that currency in circulation is close to N1 trillion. CBN will continue to pump the newly redesigned currency into the market.

“The truth is that at some point, we will need to reassess to know whether the currency in circulation has attained an optimal level, so as to put in place measures to ensure that we don’t go to the level where we were when people kept money outside the banking system for their own benefits,” he stressed.