Impact of cashlite still minimal – Rewane

[MrVan]

By Babajide Komolafe

The impact of the cashlite  policy is still minimal, two months after the policy effectively took-off in Lagos, says Bismarck Rewane of Financial Derivatives Company.

Meanwhile, the Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB) has urged merchants, traders, supermarket operators, and filling station owners to hurry to their banks and collect Point of Sale (PoS) Terminals to facilitate e-payments nationwide.

Speaking last week at the monthly Economic News and Views at Lagos Business School. Executive Breakfast meeting, Rewane said that the impact of the cashlite policy is still minimal.

He observed that 97 per cent of transactions are still cash based, twp per cent are credit card purchases and one per cent are  cheque payment. He said the policy is yet to make impact due to challenges of POS terminals and consumer resistance to change.

Meanwhile, the Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB)  in a press statement issued at the end of a one day retreat held in Lagos last weekend, has  urged merchants, traders, supermarket operators, and filling station owners to hurry to their banks and collect Point of Sale (PoS) Terminals to facilitate e-payments nationwide.

"The Association has also begun its Cashless-Lagos education campaign starting from religious institutions such as churches and mosques.

The body of corporate communications professionals said that Nigerian banks have acquired sufficient capacity in the areas of infrastructure and manpower to run a seamless cashless economy. It assured bank customers and other related parties to avail themselves of the friendly environment Nigerian banks have provided to promote businesses and personal banking experience.

"Banks operating in Nigeria have invested billions of Naira to acquire hundreds of thousands of PoS and allied facilities and technology to service customers better in the new cashless economy era.

The new cashless policy is expected to promote ease in payment transactions, eliminate risks associated with carrying cash and reduce high cost of cash processing borne by all entities across the value chain.

"ACAMB joined the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Bankers' Committee and the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) to drive the cashless policy initiative by taking the enlightenment campaign to the rural areas, the informal sector and the grassroots.

These initiatives centre around promotion of banks' investment in infrastructure and ensuring adequate availability of alternative platforms across geographical locations, stakeholder management and education through special sessions/town hall meetings, road shows and market storms, education programmes on radio – talk shows, consistent announcements in different languages, creation of awareness through the use of outdoor media and destination points (clubs, hotels, airports etc), Below-The-Line campaign (use of posters, handbills, stickers etc), Social Media campaign, and press campaign.

"The aim is to penetrate Urban and semi Urban areas with mass market appeal while communicating in local languages, create and generate excitements for everyone to embrace cashless transactions, stimulate interests and intent to embrace e-banking and raise awareness at the grass roots level for the new policy.

"ACAMB intends to achieve improved activation of PoS all over the country, and a quantum leap in the use of electronic transfer products. The programme will facilitate the growth of electronic payments and increase the availability, reliability and security of electronic channels. It will discourage heavy cash usage that attracts deadly robberies and cash related crimes such as kidnapping and money laundering. ACAMB wants heavy users and receivers of cash to transit to e-payments."

Vanguard Nigeria