Cashless: Banks Battle for Market Share with Array of e-Products

To align with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive on going cashless and to remain at the top of their games, deposit money banks (DMB) have begun introduction of arrays of e-products to meet customers’ needs in order not to loose out of the burgeoning market share, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can report. The cashless policy now tagged cash-lite policy since the initiative will not totally erase the use of cash in transactions; is aimed at reducing the amount of physical cash circulating in the economy, and to encourage more electronic-based transactions. Although the pilot run of the policy which commenced in Lagos on January 1 this year had a shaky start, some issues relating to the challenges are being addressed to make the policy a success. Part of the challenges includes information on alternate channels available to bank customers on convenience and availability of alternative means of payments available to them. To this end, banks have taken it upon themselves to intimate customers of these products needed to make them carry less cash by embarking on different awareness initiatives to attract their attention. They have taken to pages of newspapers to showcase varieties of their e-products and also to outwit one another in the battle for the soul of bank customers. The press campaign includes ‘I’m Cash-lite but loaded, Go Cashless Lagos!, Going cashless means… more freedom, Be first to make the switch, amongst other. The awareness not limited to pages of newspapers includes television commercials, radio jingles, text messages and e-mails. CBN had pegged daily cash withdrawal for individuals at N150, 000 and N1 million for corporations to limit the volume of cash that can be withdrawn in a day. Chuma Ezirim, head, e- banking, FirstBank told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek that the bank is well prepared to support the cashless policy. “ATM is more like cash, we have more active PoS than any other bank in Nigeria. Our mobile banking platform is number one. We also have our internet banking and we are prepared to support the cashless policy,” he said. Tunde Lemo, CBN deputy governor, operations had mentioned that there were challenges with getting the terminals into the country. “Our target is to deploy 40,000 PoS. The machines are already in Nigeria and we are currently deploying them. There was a problem with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the ports on the issue of waivers. We got the waivers for the importation of the PoS from the ministry of finance, but it was not communicated to the Customs and by the time the consignment arrived, there were some challenges. All the banks have also ordered the importation of thousands of other alternative payment devices. So, we would get over whatever challenges we may be passing through soon.” He, however, said that the CBN was mindful of the infrastructure and the security challenges that confronted the programme, saying that the apex bank has gone into strategic partnership with telecommunication companies with the cooperation of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) so as to ensure that structural impediments such as un-interoperability of payments networks of stakeholders are removed. “Despite the current challenges that have trailed the commencement of the policy, the apex bank and the bankers’ committee are working assiduously to ensure the success of the programme,” Lemo said.