The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has apologized for the failed electronic banking transactions which many Nigerians have been subjected to in recent months.
According to Channels, Emefiele during a two-day monetary policy committee meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, promised Nigerians that the issues regarding electronic transactions will soon be resolved.
He stated that after Nigerians had a terrible time using their mobile apps, USSD platforms, and debit cards following the implementation of the naira redesign policy and subsequent cash shortage, the apex’s bank payments system management department made efforts to ensure that downtime on electronic banking channels are addressed.
“We must apologise. Yes, online channels fail. But no doubt it is as a result of the deluge of the volume of online transactions that hit the banking industry. But I think it is currently being resolved.
“On a daily basis, our payments system management department monitor the online payment platforms so as to make sure that when there is a downtime, they are quickly resolved so that transactions can go on smoothly,” he said.
The CBN chief also addressed the nation’s money supply during the briefing, noting that the execution of the naira redesign strategy has led to a decline of currency outside of banks.
He praised fintechs for easing the burden on traditional banks and facilitating smooth transactions for Nigerians.
“Before the naira redesign, we said that there was about N3.23 trillion in circulation out of which only N500 billion was held in the banking system and N2.73 trillion was outside the banking system,” the CBN governor said.
“It was published yesterday that currency in circulation is close to N1 trillion. CBN will continue to pump the newly redesigned currency into the market.
“The truth is that at some point we will need to reassess to know whether the currency in circulation has attained an optimal level so as to put in place measures to ensure that we don’t go back to where we have before where people kept money outside the banking system for their own benefits,” he added.
