Cashless policy commences amidst poor services

culled from THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER
by Ademola Alawiye

Poor preparation and inadequate enlightenment by banks and other e-payment institutions have characterised the commencement of the cashless policy in Lagos.

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The policy commenced as a pilot scheme in the state on January 1, but its impact was not felt until Tuesday, which was the first working day of the New Year.

Many Lagos residents, who thronged their banks on Tuesday after the long Christmas and New Year holidays, complained of poor services on the Automatic Teller Machines, while those who shopped at some retail outlets had a similar experience with the e-payment channels.

Those who spoke to our correspondent complained bitterly about their experience with the Point of Sale terminals and other e-payment channels.

While some of them said they encountered poor connectivity, while trying to use their ATM cards to make payment for goods and services, others said they could not make transactions online as a result of network problems.

The Central Bank of Nigeria had announced that from June 1, 2012, daily cumulative cash withdrawals and lodgements by individuals and corporate account holders should not exceed N150,000 and N1m respectively, otherwise penalties would be paid for any transaction above the limits.

A visit to different bank branches on Tuesday showed that normal activities were going on, as customers were making transactions above the limits.

A resident, who simply identified himself as Francis, said the challenges he encountered while trying to use one of the e-payment channels, showed that the nation was not mature for the policy.

Francis said, "I went for shopping with my family members and because I wanted to try the e-payment system, I tried using my ATM card on the PoS machine but was told that my bank's server could not be accessed.

"I had to resort to going to the bank to withdraw cash. The only good thing is that the payment of service fee on the withdrawal limit has been extended, if not, I would have been charged for withdrawing above the limit."

Mrs. Mobola Adekunle, a business woman, said, "I tried sending money online to a business partner but it keeps bouncing back. When the charges commence, a lot of people will be charged for exceeding the limit, not because they don't want to use the e-channels, but because the available channels are still under developed."

Officials at the different banks also told our correspondent that individual account holders were still making transactions beyond the withdrawal limit stipulated by the CBN.

They pointed out that such transactions would cease when the penalty charges kicked off.

One of the officials, who did not want her name mentioned because she was not permitted to speak on the matter said, "Nothing has really changed. People are still making transactions below and above N150,000 as usual.

"You don't expect anything to change until the charges start."