The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the CBN, had on Monday, issued a circular to various financial institutions, including commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, indicating that the levy would itake effect two weeks from the release of the circular.
Residents of Benin have frowned at the directive.
According to them, it is anti- cashless policy and will worsen the currently unstable macro-economic situation in the country.
According to Michael Obadan, Professor of Economics, government should suspend the levy and allow the economy to stabilise and then enhance the standard of living of Nigerians.
“It is one levy that is too many; already, the macro-economic environment is very hostile, it is unstable and that is why the rate of inflation is very high.
‘Invariably, anything that will further compound inflation is unacceptable. There are other ways to do these things than clamping down on citizens because they utilise online payments.”
He said: “this kind of action can discourage people from embracing the online payment channels and people opting for cash payments.
“The measure is totally unacceptable and unnecessary at this point in time.
“What the government should be doing is to find ways to douse tension of the current macro-economic instability challenges and not to further dapple the morals of citizens.”
Ms. Agatha Oseike, the Executive Director, Women Youths and Children Advancement Programme, while calling on the government to suspend the implementation of the levy, urged banks to have uniform charges.
“There is a need for the different levies paid by customers to be the same across the different commercial banks.
‘”Some banks charge N25 for transfers to other banks while some charge N10. There should be uniformity and levies should be harmonised, ” she said.
“Besides, the bank levies are already too many, citizens do not need to pay more levies, especially in view of the high cost of living. “
Another resident, Mrs Ruth Omigie, a civil servant, urged the commercial banks to use monies charged as maintenance fees to secure customers’ accounts.
“Saving money in the banks already means that the banks have the capacity to secure the money.
“Bank customers are already paying maintenance levies to banks, this levy should be used to keep their money safe from any form of fraud.”
She also called on the government to partner more with tech based companies, both national and international as well as multinational organisations to help secure the banks’ cyberspace and internet.
On his part, a human rights activist, Mr Solomon Amadasun, urged banks to constantly sensitise customers on cybersecurity and ways to prevent becoming victims to cyber frauds.
“We hear cases of bank customers losing their hard earned money to internet fraud and the banks can’t trace how the money disappeared from the account or recover the money.
“When you ask some of the cyber fraud victims how their money disappeared from their accounts, they will tell you “I clicked on a job link, or a link to update my account details or even a link promising government grants.
“So, the banks need to go beyond reaching only educated customers with cybersecurity information via emails, they should use the radio stations to reach the uneducated bank customers via pidgin english and local dialects
“Educating the public about cybersecurity will help reduce cyber frauds as well as reduce the amount of resources being used to mitigate the menace. ” (NAN
