By John Ikani
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has expressed his regrets to Nigerians for the inconvenience caused by the recent rise in failed electronic banking transactions.
Speaking at the conclusion of the two-day Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, Emefiele assured Nigerians that the issue would be resolved expeditiously.
He revealed that the apex bank’s payments system management department had been working tirelessly to ensure that downtime on electronic banking channels was minimized, following a difficult period experienced by Nigerians with their mobile apps, USSD platforms, and debit cards since the introduction of the naira redesign policy and subsequent cash shortage.
“We must apologize for the inconvenience caused. Yes, online channels do experience some downtime. However, the deluge of the volume of online transactions that hit the banking industry is the major cause. Nevertheless, the issue is currently being resolved,” Emefiele said.
“On a daily basis, our payments system management department monitors the online payment platforms so that when there is a downtime, it is resolved as quickly as possible to ensure that transactions are conducted smoothly.”
Emefiele also spoke about the supply of money in Nigeria, stating that the implementation of the naira redesign policy had resulted in a significant reduction in currency outside the banks.
He commended fintechs for making it easier for Nigerians to carry out transactions by reducing the burden on traditional banks.
“Before the naira redesign, only N500 billion out of N3.23 trillion in circulation was held in the banking system, while N2.73 trillion was outside the banking system. It was reported yesterday that the currency in circulation is now close to N1 trillion. The CBN will continue to inject the newly redesigned currency into the market,” the CBN Governor stated.
“However, it is important to reassess at some point to determine if the currency in circulation has reached an optimal level, so that measures can be put in place to prevent a return to the past where people kept their money outside the banking system for personal gains,” he added.
