The Edo State Government has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to work closely with the relevant stakeholders in order to address the current challenges in electronic banking(e-banking) that businesses are facing in Nigeria.
The managing director, Edo State Investment Promotion Office (ESIPO)-Ease of Doing Business Secretariat, Kelvin Uwaibi, made the call in his office in Benin City, the state capital, while responding to the statement recently issued by the CBN on the status of N200, N500 and N1000 notes in relation to the Supreme Court ruling.
Enumerating some of the challenges which businesses are facing with the e-banking system, Uwaibi noted that declined transactions which are not quickly resolved are creating difficulty for businesses adding that beneficiaries often do not get the money already debited from the sender’s accounts which is one of the reasons some traders now reject electronic funds transfer for purchases.
Uwaibi noted that the CBN must work hard to improve and simplify how businesses accept payments, make payments and manage their operations adding that observations have revealed that the services of the OPay Digital Services Limited, Moniepoint, Nomba, Dotpay, PalmPay now seem to be more effective than the conventional banks since the introduction of the naira redesign policy.
He said, “We are concerned about businesses. We want them to operate seamlessly. Any challenge they face also have a way it affects the economy. The feedback we are getting from businesses right now is that making payment is difficult using e-banking platforms.
“Businesses are particularly experiencing issues of failed transactions or declined transactions which are either not resolved or delayed, hence, making traders refuse electronic fund transfers from customers, and this is affecting sales. There is an urgent need to resolve this challenge, more importantly in rural areas. We will want to suggest the CBN get more trained POS agents into the rural areas. This can serve as stream of income for young people in rural communities.
“People also ask, how come the services of Moniepoint, Nomba, Opay, Dotpay, Palmpay and the rest of them are now more effective than the conventional banks? You send money to a customer and he or she does not get it and you are debited. Or a situation where funds are sent to a trader and he or she says has not received the funds. This is already creating confusion in business transactions. These are some of the issues that need to be addressed.
“For the old N500 and N1000, we urge all residents to go with the Supreme Court ruling. They remain legal tender till December 31, 2023. Let us not now create difficulty for ourselves when the matter has already been settled at the apex court. It will amount to having ease but we choose difficulty, and this is not good for us as a people. The Edo State Government is in line with the Supreme Court ruling. We believe in the rule of law.”
Recall that the CBN issued a press statement recently directing banks operating in Nigeria to comply with the Supreme Court ruling as it relates to old N200, N500, and 1,000 banknotes.
