Monday, January 16, 2023 has come and gone but there has been neither a word nor clarity from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the national domestic card scheme that the apex bank and the Nigeria InterBank Settlement Systems Plc (NIBSS) had told Nigerians would take off on that date.

On Monday, a number of news organisations announced the take-off of the domestic card scheme. However, none of the reports cited a recent communication by the CBN on the matter; they all relied on the authority of an October 2022 statement by Osita Nwanisobi, the CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, as well as comments made by Premier Oiwoh, NIBSS Director-General, at a press briefing in the same month.

Since the domestic card scheme was mentioned in October last year with a take-off date in view, findings show that neither the CBN nor the NIBSS has provided further communication to Nigerians on the issue.

Checks on the CBN website on Tuesday, January 17, 2023 showed that the latest notice on the website was posted on January 17, and it had nothing to do the domestic card scheme. It was a notice of the 289th Meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) scheduled for January 23 and 24.

The Nigerian Observer also checked the CBN’s verified Twitter handle for update on the national domestic card scheme but there was none.

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As announced in October last year, the national domestic card scheme is a project of the CBN in collaboration with NIBSS and the Bankers’ Committee.

According to a news report posted on the NIBSS website dated 24 October 2022, Nwanisobi had said in a statement that the domestic card scheme would kick off on January 16, 2022.

The report, which NIBSS said was first published in Punch, quoted Nwanisobi as saying that the national domestic card scheme, which is in line with the CBN’s mandate to promote stability, inclusion and growth in the financial and payment system, was expected to come with infrastructure that could deliver lower-cost payments services that are more accessible and affordable for Nigerians.

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It was also expected to foster innovation within the Nigerian domestic market, and also allow banks to offer a variety of solutions including debit, credit, virtual, loyalty and tokenized cards, amongst others.

“The CBN recognises the significant benefits from delivering Africa’s first central bank-driven domestic card scheme, which, when delivered at scale, has the potential to become the largest in Africa, and one of the largest in the world,” Nwanisobi had said.

“Domesticating our card scheme also enhances data sovereignty, enabling the development of locally relevant products and services and reduces demands on foreign exchange.”

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Some reports had also quoted the NIBSS Director-General to have said that part of the CBN’s proposition for the national domestic card scheme was for it to help drive acceptance and efficiency, reduce operating cost of cards in the country, as well as reduce the dependence on cash across the landscape and promote the CBN’s cashless initiative.

“This card will be configured to address the unique ecosystem that we have, to help improve payment across the nation. We also expect the card to provide affordable pricing; on this card the charges will be lower because it’s expected to be charged for in naira as against foreign currency,” Oiwoh had said.

A day to the proposed January 16 take-off date, The Nigerian Observer had reported that the domestic card scheme did not seem to be a top priority for Nigerians going by the top searches on Google Trends Nigeria.

It now also appears not to be a priority issue for the CBN as over 48 hours after the proposed take-off date for the domestic card scheme has elapsed, the apex bank has yet to say a word concerning it.