The House representatives has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria to halt the implementation of the charges component of the cashless policy.
This is coming barely 24 hours after the Apex Bank issued a circular directing Money Deposit Banks to charge 3% for withdrawal and 2% for lodgment in transactions at the excess of N500, 000, for individual accounts.
And for corporate accounts: It’s 5% for withdrawal and 3% for deposit for transactions that are in excess of N5 million. Upon the announcement, the policy has been met with heavy criticism with experts calling it “exploitation to enrich the banks.”
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In view of the backlash that followed, the House of Representatives, has in its plenary session on Thursday considered the policy ill in the current economic dispensation.
The lower House said it has a negative impact on small and medium enterprises, which are the backbone of Nigerian economy.
Nigerians have been wailing over multiple charges by banks over the years, and believe that cutting the charges would encourage depositors to accept the cashless policy without being forced to do so through the imposition of additional charges.
The attempt to implement the cashless policy has been hitting one hurdle after the other since 2012, due to existing bank structure that thrives in customers’ exploitation. And the Apex Bank has done nothing or little to quell it.
It is in view of all these that the Thursday’s plenary session birthed the decision ordering the CBN to call it off.