By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday banned the dollar charges on domestic accounts.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emiefele disclosed this during a virtual launch of the new Nigerian National Domestic Card Scheme, Afrigo in Abuja.
According to him, the ban will be coming up with a deadline for the previously existing card schemes in the country.
Emefiele attributed the new development to the charges by foreign cards on dollar and the new global era where foreign exchange has been faced with persisting challenges overtime, adding that the country must take the lead in securing her nation.
“At this time when foreign exchange challenges persist globally, it is important that we have this card to ensure that all card transactions, online transactions, where you are using cards will now effectively immediately begin to go on the Nigerian National Domestic system.
“But given that charges by foreign cards are in dollars, we will no longer pay dollars for the charges on those cards. Particularly, we would only pay dollars charges for transactions that are done with whether they are domestic cards or foreign cards outside Nigeria.
“All domestic transactions that are going to be conducted in Nigeria will have to be through the Nigerian domestic cards”, the CBN Governor said.
Emefiele added that the new scheme will further push the value of the naira, reduce charge of transactions and help keep track of transaction records in the country.
He also noted that the domestic card scheme avails the country “the sovereignty of our data”, adding that it will be made available at a lower cost.
In her welcome remarks, the Chairman of Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), Mrs Aishah N. Ahmad, said over the years, NIBSS has been central in some of these developments, given its strategic role as a shared service platform, critical financial market.
Mrs Ahmad who is also the Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability of the CBN, noted that technological advancement, rapid innovation in financial and payment services and the forward thinking regulatory stance of the CBN have offered us unique opportunities to drive cashless transactions, boost financial inclusion, deepen the financial system and promote inclusive economic growth.
She said, “Indeed the evolution of the Nigerian payment system witnessed today is an achievement we are all very proud of. Indeed, it has become an important reference point for a variety of participants in the Nigerian financial services sector such as DMBs, PSBs, MMOs, etc, which has paved way for this”.
The Deputy Governor added that “the National Domestic Card Scheme is momentous development for a number of reasons, not in the least the data sovereignty it confers, cost savings for the industry; it heralds a new vista of opportunities for the card business, that several countries continue to recognize and leverage as they create their own domestic card schemes to augment existing foreign payment card rails”.
