The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to explore other options to achieve its cashless policy scheduled to be fully implemented from March 31, 2020.
MAN urged CBN to consider the use of the carrot rather than the stick approach, noting that the implementation of the cashless policy on withdrawals may have a negative impact on Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), who are the engine room for the economy’s growth and employment generation.
The apex bank, in a circular, directed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to charge on deposits, in addition to existing charges on withdrawals, three per cent processing fees for individual accounts, withdrawals in excess of N500, 000 and five per cent for corporate accounts withdrawal in excess of N3 million.
It also introduced processing fees for cash lodgments of two per cent above N500, 000 for individual accounts and three per cent for lodgment above N3 million for corporate accounts.
MAN said though one might agree with the CBN governor that this was in the public interest to promote an efficient payment system via the cashless policy, there was the need to examine the route the Bank chooses to achieve that objective.
“This is the crux of the matter and it appears to be a recurring decimal in the administration of our monetary policy interventions,” MAN Director- General Segun Ajayi-Kadir said, in a statement made available to The Nation.
“Apart from the fact that the policy at inception, was put in place without consultations, sensitisation, explanation or rationale for its introduction; the policy was presented as the only way to achieve the much-desired cashless or less cash economy,” Ajayi-Kadir added.
He said the explanation given was more of empathising with the banking public for the “inevitable hardship” the cashless policy would impose on them, adding that it would also appear that the applicable percentages did not take cognizance the existing and long-standing charges on withdrawals.
The MAN boss said there are clearly more than one road to the market. Hear him: “In this instance, the CBN has at least, two options to achieve the latest progression towards the desired cashless economy; to penalise non-compliance or to incentivise compliance. It would appear that the CBN has chosen the former.
“What I mean is that rather than introduce gains for those who embrace cashless transactions, it has elected to punish those who have not, including those operating in genuinely large cash-driven economic activities.
“There is also a huge concern over the inadequacy of the needed cashless economy infrastructure, which the Money Deposit Banks are not doing enough to upscale or do so at a disproportionate additional cost to the users.”
Exactly five years after the much-hyped cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) became fully operational nationwide, there has been an upsurge in the wave of e-banking and other related crimes with over N2.19b lost in 2016 alone. Bukola Aroloye in this report examines the issues
What finance-related frauds have been on the increase should be a cause of worry to all concerned, especially because such frauds ride on the back of technology. This is particularly true of electronic banking transactions, which ironically the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, was supposed to address frontally.
Cashless policy in brief
The CBN launched the Cashless Nigeria Project in Lagos State, in January 2012, and extended the policy to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abia, Anambra, Ogun, Kano and Rivers States in June 2013.
The policy was initiated against the backdrop of cash dominance in the payments system, a development which encouraged the circulation of huge sums of money outside the banking system and imposed huge currency management cost on the economy. The policy was meant to ensure price stability through effective monetary policy; sound financial system and efficient payments system.
It was a critical part of the payment system modernisation, designed to promote the use of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of Sale (PoS) terminals, web payment, online transfers and even mobile money in banking transactions instead of relying on cash.
Former CBN Deputy Governor, Operations, Tunde Lemo, who oversaw the cashless policy for the first two years – after its introduction, admitted that there are challenges with the e-payment system but denied that most of the PoS terminals are not working effectively. He said there are challenges with bandwidth of the telecommunications service providers.
“We spoke to the service providers on the need to improve bandwidth which they did and we saw improvement in the Lagos area. We have started talking to NICOMSAT, and they did a test-run in Lagos area and we are satisfied about their proposition. So within the next few weeks, you will notice improvement in connectivity in Lagos area at least,” he said.
Lemo said some supermarket attendants sabotage the system and tell customers that the PoS is not working because paying through the machine denies them the access to tips or free left over cash of N20 or N40 from customers.
“In one of our meetings with the merchants, we told them to build-in some reward system that will still allow the attendants access to the free change they get from customers even as tips without compromising the standard of service. When we do that, you will discover that these things work,” he said.
Banking security fears
Such concerns over banking security have put wide embrace of e-payment channels in abeyance. A recent survey by Visa International showed that high net worth account holders neither own nor use ATM cards. The study revealed that people that earn below N500, 000 per annum, who form 47 per cent of its respondents, own and are regular users of debit cards, including for online purchases. It showed that the higher people earn, the less they own and use their debit cards. Majority of the rich, it said, think that avoiding debit cards is the best way to stay protected from online frauds.
Data obtained from the CBN result for 2012 showed the bank received and processed 6,274 complaints, via e-mail on various financial crimes, particularly advance fee fraud. There were 4,527 cases of fraud and forgery involving the sum of N14.8 billion and $1.6 million.
The CBN also received and investigated four complaints against commercial banks even as the issues were promptly reported to law enforcement agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for investigation. Globally, estimated credit card fraud stood at $11 billion in 2012, making it one of the most significant criminal developments in modern times.
How safe are the ATMs?
According to experts, Nigerian banks are using an outdated Microsoft Windows operating system, which is vulnerable to hacking, for their operations. This is partly responsible for the frauds associated with their operations. Microsoft Nigeria said 95 per cent of all ATMs which run on Windows XP operating system are vulnerable to hacking.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele
More damning reports
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said the Nigeria InterBank Settlement System (NIBSS) recorded over 1,200 per cent increase in reported fraud cases in 2016, estimated at N2.19 billion when compared to 2014 cases.
According to ‘Dipo Fatokun, CBN’s Director, Banking and Payments System Department and Chairman, Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF), in its latest report, the industry processed transactions in 2016 that amounted to 278,744,529, while the value was over N64 trillion.
While there was an increase of 71 per cent in volume of transactions, there was also an increase of 31 per cent in the value of transactions compared to 2015.
He said the industry recorded about 82 per cent increase in reported fraud cases when compared to 2015 and over 1200 per cent when compared to 2014.
Despite the 82 per cent increase in the reported fraud cases, with an estimated N2.19 billion loss to fraud, the industry was able to reduce fraud by 2.7 per cent when compared to the 2015 figure, he said.
“Comparing the attempted fraud against the actual loss, the industry was able to salvage 49.7 per cent of the total amount attempted by the fraudsters within the year. These figures informed us that there are more attempts on yearly basis with different innovation tricks or modus operandi to take advantage of the system,” he said.
Looking ahead into 2017, Fatokun said the financial industry as a whole must collaborate to ensure a wider gap exists between the attempted fraud and actual loss, adding the analysis in this report would allow us to benchmark and also understand where the vulnerabilities lie.
Despite the attraction of digital banking, the threat of cybercrime remains a concern to banks and their customers. On daily basis, bank customers are inundated with scam mails by fraudsters, in their attempt to hack into the customers e-banking details. The Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) estimated that about N33 billion was lost to e-fraud in 2016 and beyond. NeFF therefore warned bankers and the banking public against responding to messages that fly into their phones and e-mails on daily basis claiming falsely to originate from banks.
The forum also said it was looking critically at measures that will protect the industry as a whole from the menace of social engineering attacks.
Fatokun said: “Social engineering has become rife in cybercrime attacks in Nigeria. Almost on a daily basis, a plethora of messages are sent by these criminals with the express intent to con the unsuspecting recipient using techniques that appeal to vanity and greed. It is therefore important that we look critically at measures that will protect the industry as a whole from the menace of social engineering attacks.”
The foregoing clearly shows that despite the challenges of infrastructure and cybercrime, by leveraging digital payments, banks can potentially double their payments-related revenue, beating new entrants at their own game. This new thinking about the core value proposition of banking will, however, require an entirely new approach to operations and solutions innovation.
Nevertheless, in order to be competitive in the digital space, banks must design hands-on education campaigns to change their customers—from cash users to cheque writers—to the advantages of digital banking. This means changing the way consumers shop, pay their bills, and manage their finances. Banks will need to undertake an aggressive drive to bring occasional users into the circle of loyal digital customers.
Echoing similar sentiments, Jeremy Boorer, International Director, Easy Solutions, said of the 17 Nigerian banks recently surveyed majority deploy fake mobile apps.
“In 15 of them, we found the following: The firs t to 10th banks checked were found with 13, 10, 17, eight, 11, eight, nine, 13, seven and 20 fake mobile apps respectively. The 11th to 15th banks were also found with 11, 14, 13, 16 and 15 fake mobile apps.”
He warned bank customers that app stores were full of fake apps claiming to come from banks, saying once a customer downloads and enters financial information, including credit/debit cards details and personal identity numbers (PIN), his/her money is gone as the fraudster will clone the cards or transfer the money through online banking immediately.
“In the last four weeks, we discovered that hundreds of defacement attacks are going on Nigerian banks by hackers. It against highlights the fact that the websites are not totally secure. Email is still the primary attack channel. They pretend to be customers of the banks to contact the bank. E-fraud is initiated through account takeover, new account and true person/mule.”
Boorer said all channel fraud happens in one of the above fraud types through malware, phishing, social engineering, account opening process gaps (KYC/CIP).
According to him, “Social media seems to be a concern as banks create social media accounts and ask prospective customers to open bank ac-counts on social media.
“Fake banks are springing up on the social media and the data that are used to open such accounts, you don’t know where it ends. There are financial motivations to trick people to create social media accounts to steal financial/credit information which are sold in the dark internet market for as low as $10 by competing dark internet hacker sites.”
But Fatokun, who was represented by Mrs Margaret Ogundana, head, Banking and Payment System, CBN at a seminar in Lagos recently said the apex bank was not just advocating e-payments but doing all it could to ensure that users’ funds are well protected as they embrace e-payment.
“CBN has, therefore, been a champion for the fight against e-fraud in Nigeria. Several initiatives, directives and fora of this nature had been at the forefront of our activities at CBN,” he said, noting that the apex bank in 2010 introduced EMV cards policy which reduced the card fraud to the barest minimum.
Way forward
Director General of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), Professor Akpan Ekpo, cautioned banks to be careful with the deployment of digital banking services.
While Ekpo pointed out that electronic banking channels were not bad, he held the view that a large chunk of the country’s population resided in the rural areas and lack basic infrastructure required to access digital banking.
“Electronic banking is not bad. But we must be concerned about those in the rural areas. Most bank customers live in the rural areas where the basic infrastructure is lacking and we must understand that we have just a small segment of urban dwellers. Even the cashless policy is not effective in a lot of areas. There is also the concern of cybercrime, which is also a threat to digital banking,” Ekpo stated.
National Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), Mr. Boniface Okezie, said Nigeria was not ripe for the digital banking revolution.
He urged banks to continue to increase their brick and mortar branches, arguing that the cashless policy has not been successful.
According to Okezie, the country must first address its major infrastructure issues before delving into the technology innovation.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed Deposit Money Banks to suspend charges on over-the-counter or ATM withdrawals of above N500,000 or deposit of same amount.
The apex bank’s Director, Banking and Payments System Department, Mr Dipo Fatokun, in a circular dated April 20, 2017, said all the charges introduced in February, and meant to take effect from April 1, 2017, have been dropped.
“For further clarification, the existing policy prior to the announcement of the new policy as earlier implemented in Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Abia, Anambra, Rivers states and the FCT shall remain.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the old charges to be reverted to are as follows: Individual charges on withdrawals or lodgment limit is now three per cent.
“Corporate accounts will be charged five per cent for withdrawal or lodgment of over N3 million cash.
“Henceforth, nothing will be charged as processing fees for lodgments,” he said.
Fatokun directed banks to make all necessary refunds to customers with immediate effect.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the CBN in February announced its plan to extend the Cashless Policy to all the remaining states of the Federation by Oct. 1, 2017, to enhance the efficiency of payment systems.
This policy, which received a lot of backlash from market analysts, was to commence in phases within the country with effect from April 1, 2017.
The policy introduced charges on the cumulative cash withdrawals or deposits per customer per day, irrespective of the channels used either over-the-counter or ATM.
The charges for individuals was two per cent for withdrawals above N500,000 to N5 million, 1.5 per cent on deposits for N500,000 to N1 million, and three per cent on deposits above N1 million to N5 million.
Also, individual withdrawals above N5 million was to incur a 7.5 per cent charge.
Similarly, corporate accounts were also to incur a charge of two per cent on withdrawals ranging from N3 million to N10 million, while withdrawals of that amount would be at a five per cent charge.
Over-the-counter deposit of above N10 million to N40 million was to attract a three per cent charge and 7.5 per cent on withdrawals, while above N40 million attracts five per cent on deposits and 10 per cent on withdrawals.
However, the policy exempted Revenue-Generating Accounts of the Federal, State and Local Governments, Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government from cash deposit charge.
Also, accounts of Embassies, Diplomatic Missions, Multilateral, Aid Donor Agencies in Nigeria, Microfinance banks and Primary Mortgage Institutions were exempted from the cash deposit and withdrawal charges.
The electronic commerce sector is expected to expand further to as much as $13 billion (N2.5 trillion) in value, Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, (LCCI) Mr Muda Yusuf has said.
He said this was expected as more Nigerians patronise online retail platforms following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) cashlite policy and the Federal Government’s National Broadband Policy (NBP) 2013-2018.
Yusuf said the increasing trend according to the NBP, stated that 80 per cent of the population is projected to enjoy mobile broadband access and 20 per cent fixed line access.
He attributed the growth to the country’s population and the growth of internet and smartphone penetration.
He noted that the country’s economic development will also have an impact on the growth of e-commerce, adding that more and more people, including retailers, branding partners and delivery companies, are attracted by online trade.
He said: “The e-commerce sector would reduce the cost of banking services (including cost of credit) and drive financial inclusion by providing more efficient transaction options and greater reach.
“The electronic commerce sector would improve the effectiveness of monetary policy in managing inflation and driving economic growth as it boosted by an efficient and modern payment system, which is positively correlated with economic development, and is a key enabler for economic growth”.
On the rising debt profile of the country, Yusuf said Nigeria is gradually walking back to the debt trap, adding that, adding that this is a very bad situation for the country.
“The implications are very ominous because what this means is that a huge proportion of the nation’s resources will be used in servicing debt, which is a major cause for concern.
“Even if you look at the structure of Nigeria’s annual budget, you will be shocked to see the proportion of the budget that is used for debt servicing.
“In the budget, which is a little above N4 trillion, over N900 billion is earmarked for debt payment. It means that almost 25 per cent of the budget is being set aside to service debt. You know what N900 billion can do for the growth of the nation.
He said it would have been a different thing if the debt had been incurred for particular projects such as power, rail lines, road networks and so on, which will ultimately help to cushion the effects of its repayment.
He said: “The productivity gains that will arise from such projects at the macro level will put the country’s economy in a position that will enable it to take care of the debts. But the truth is that there is nothing to show for the debts that have mortgaged the economy.”
The Head, e-Business, Stanbic IBTC bank, Thabo Makoko, spoke with Bukola Afolabi on the challenges of implementation of the automated teller machine (ATM) cards and cashless policy in Nigeria
We have heard and also read about the phenomenal growth of payment cards since the Central Bank of Nigeria started implementing the cash-lite policy. What is the current state of debit and credit cards issued by Stanbic IBTC and the wider financial services sector?
It is true that the CBN cash-lite policy implementation has increased the demand for cash-lite instruments and cards have been in high demand in the industry. This year alone, our credit card business has grown by over 400 percent while the debit card business has almost doubled.
Customers are realising the benefits of using cards for their transactions – flexibility, convenience, security of using cards compared to cash, among others. As parts of our drive to provide end-to-end financial services solutions for our customers, we issue debit cards to every account holder from inception. This empowers them to carry out transactions with very little dependence on cash.
Self-service channels including ATMs and Point of Sales (PoS) terminals remain highly convenient as they are available 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
In addition to CBN’s cash-lite policy, how pivotal is the role of technology, such as increased internet connectivity and robust payment platforms, in driving the adoption of cards in Nigeria?
Technology is essential in driving a cash-lite industry. Our major concern as a bank remains the technology driving the business, particularly the communications for PoS terminals and electronic banking platforms. We invest in educating customers to migrate from cash reliance to using their cards on PoS terminals.
However, if the terminals do not have a 99 per cent uptime, it discourages the behaviour we work so hard to achieve. There are some key partners involved in processing card transactions: telecommunication companies, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and the banks. All partners need to be available to ensure better service to customers.
Over the past 18 months, there have been improved commitment and focus in ensuring that we improve the industry and offer a compelling alternative to the traditional cash.
With the growth trend you have enumerated, would you say that Nigerians may be discarding their fear of using cards for financial transactions?
To a large extent, I will say yes. Every day, more people get more comfortable with the use of cards. However, we still have to work towards the stage where every bank account holder, in addition to having a card, does most, if not all, of their current cash transactions via credit or debit cards. CBN introduced new pricing tariffs and these were meant to encourage the use of non-cash instruments so that consumers can only enjoy the benefits of adopting cash-lite instruments.
Another reported drawback with using cards issued in Nigeria is security. How secure are credit cards issued by Nigerian banks?
All banks are governed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure that standard national card security features are enforced. One of these features is the ‘chip and PIN’ technology which prevents the cloning of cards.
Card association requirements for MasterCard and Visa also include the Payment Cards Industry Data Security Standards (PCIDSS) certification for card issuers. PCIDSS is the international payment card industry data security standard which is a compulsory international standard on card data security.
With this certification, Stanbic IBTC Bank’s card payment solutions and debit and credit card services have met the highest standard of security of customers’ information and transactions on its e-banking platform, which significantly reduces the risk of card system compromise.
We also have a fraud monitoring tool on our credit cards called the Visa Risk Manager which effectively monitors and prevents fraud on the credit cards. We always encourage card holders to take security measures concerning their cards like not accepting help from strangers when using their cards; inspecting transaction terminals like PoS machines and ATMs for suspicious devices used to fraudulently collect card details from unsuspecting cardholders; or people trying to note their PIN at an ATM, and so on. Our Customer Care Centre is available 24 hours every day to assist customers with their cards needs.
Recently, it was reported that there are over 150,000 PoS terminals currently in Lagos with many of the terminals inactive. Don’t you think this can dampen enthusiasm of Nigerians towards cards?
Yes. There are people who are eager to use their cards at PoS terminals because PoS machines offer more security than carrying cash around. However, people are not so confident that every time they walk into a merchant’s location, their card will be accepted.
From the merchant’s perspective, there are several reasons they do not have active terminals. These range from shop owners’ reluctance to bear the associated costs; shop attendants not willing to use the terminal for reasons including getting tips as a result of cash transactions, indifference to the value and convenience that the terminals offer, and so on.
These are, however, teething problems associated with the adoption of new solutions. Industry trends indicate that more and more customers will switch to PoS transactions and cards will be a better transaction option when compared with cash.
Nigerians started embracing credit cards recently. Why did it take so long for banks in Nigeria to issue their customers credit cards, considering how long debit cards have been in the market?
Credit cards, being an unsecured loan product, must be treated as any other loan product – it requires verification checks, documentation, proof of repayment; and so on. In Nigeria, issuing of credit cards is done with much caution as they are prone to default if not carefully managed.
Other developed countries have easier tracking systems where credit rating determines several other socio-economic factors in individual lives; therefore citizens exercise discipline and ensure their cards are properly serviced.
In Nigeria, however, we are gradually building our centralised credit bureau system for referencing customers who have good credit history to extend the credit card product to a larger group.
I believe that in time, credit cards will be very popular in the country when the credit system is fully developed. For now, Stanbic IBTC Bank remains one of the few banks offering the product to a certain category of customers.
People in the lower demographics have been reported to be more faithful in repaying bank loans, compared to people in the upper class. Why are these people who have shown high fidelity in loan repayment not the major focus of the banking system when it comes to products such as credit cards?
Our credit card holders include persons who earn from N80,000 per month. This indicates that we do not necessarily offer the product to only the upper class. For us, the ability to demonstrate regular repayment via earning a stable income over a few months is a major condition.
With about 30 million bank accounts operated by Nigerians, as reported by the CBN, are we looking at such a number as potential credit cardholders? What does the future hold for credit card usage in Nigeria?
The future is bright for the credit card business. We just need to keep setting up the proper structure in place to improve the card system. We need to have a proper credit rating system which will guide the banks in making the right customer selection for the product.
The governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi has restated the apex bank’s commitment to the cashless policy, saying it is best for an emerging economy like Nigeria.
The CBN boss spoke at a public forum in Lagos, organised by Connectnigeria.com, an online business organisation, where he delivered the keynote address under the sub-theme: ‘Importance of A Cashless Society to Economic Growth and Development in Nigeria.’
According to him, the cashless policy initiative of the CBN is a catalyst to the promotion of electronic payments in the country as all the drivers and the electronic channels in the cashless projects play important role in ensuring a safe and efficient payment system.
Sanusi, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Mr. Olusuyi Adaramewa reiterated that the “cashless policy aims at curbing or eliminating some of the negative consequences associated with the high usage of physical cash in the economy.”
The Deputy Governor appealed to small and medium scale enterprises to utilise the opportunities in the online banking system which would help enhance financial inclusion, availability, reliability and cost effectiveness of payments services even as he assured that the CBN is working hard to ensure that customers are protected from needless stress.
Earlier in his opening address, the convener of the event, Mr. Emeka Okafor, noted that the goal of the event is to engender economic through small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
“The great economies in the world are developed largely through the efforts of small businesses -the ones that employ two, three or even twenty to sixty employees.”
The cashless policy has been hampered by the increasing use of dollars for transactions in Nigeria, leading to a weakening of the naira, a financial expert, Mr Remi Oyekola, has said.
He said politicians and other high net-worth individuals now use dollars because it is not covered by the restrictions imposed by the cash-less policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Oyekola, who is Managing Partner of Frantivic & Associates, a financial consulting firm, spoke at a news conference on the launch of the book: Investing in Nigeria: A Country Business Guide for Multinationals and Entrepreneurs, which he co-authored with other financial experts.
The book will be launched tomorrow at NECA House, Plot 2, Hakeem Balogun Street, Central Business District, Alausa, by 11am.
Oyekola said: “Why should we be spending dollars in Nigeria in the first place? The cashless policy doesn’t affect those who use dollars. The policy was to give information about the cash going out everyday, to reduce cost of cash production and in effect tackle corruption and robbery.
“But people have now moved from naira to dollars. With the cash-less policy, you may not bribe somebody with millions of naira in Ghana-Must-Go bags easily anymore, but now people will simply say ‘Go and give me dollars’.
“And you can go to anywhere to get dollars. That’s why you see the price going up, because the need for dollar is so high now than before. If we don’t have need for other currency, the value of the naira will be enhanced.”
The chartered accountant said Nigeria cannot retain the value of its currency because it has remained a consuming nation, adding that the use of dollars has added further stress on the naira.
Oyekola said while banks need to fund agriculture to boost investment in the sector, so that unemployment can be reduced, adding that government policy should include allowances for the unemployed.
He said corruption thrives in Nigeria because people are not afraid of being punished for their crimes.
“In other countries, people fear the law more than they fear God. You may not see them in church on Sunday or Mosque on Friday, but they fear their law. There is no such fear of law in this country.
“But you can’t change everything in a day. It will take time. That’s why I’m in support of democracy. Let technocrats come on board, and with time, things will change,” Oyekola said.
The proposed plan by the CBN to introduce the cashless policy to other states of the federation in 2013 has suffered a major setback following the decision of the apex bank to suspend the plan indefinitely.
Speaking exclusively to Nation, the spokesperson of CBN, Ugo Okorafor said the decision to suspend the plan was made to afford CBN the opportunity to correct all the anomalies noticed in the Lagos implementation of the policy.
“ For now, the CBN has suspended the plan to introduce the policy to other states next year. The test run we did in Lagos showed some problems in the implementation. For instance, people complained there were no enough POS and ATM machines which we also noticed. The problem of awareness was also there as some people said they were not well informed about the policy,” he said.
He continues, ‘So before we introduce it to other states, we want to correct the problems. There are some states that do not have enough banks and ATM machines like Lag0s and provisions have to be made for the policy to work in those places. It will also afford the banks to upgrade their systems for effective operation of the policy. So when we are convinced those things have been put in place, it will be extended to other states.”
He, however, said the policy will continue to operate in Lagos.
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshall Uluseyi Petinrin, has s said the rise in cyber fraud endangers Nigeria’s ‘cashless policy.’
Speaking at the ‘World Cyber Security Conference’ yesterday in Abuja, the CDS also said unknown persons have accessed the computer systems of the Defence Headquarters and Nigerian Navy.
Air Chief Marshall Petinrin wasrepresented at the conference by the Chief of Research and Development, Major-General M. K. Amao.
He noted that there is an upsurge in high profile hacking against top corporations and institutions around the world.
According to the CDS, most systems are being infiltrated and confidential information stolen.
He said: “Here in Nigeria, our defence and security institutions have not been left out. My defence headquarters’ website, for example, was hacked not too long ago. One of the services, the Navy, also had its website hacked.
‘’We are also aware of similar experiences with other security agencies in the country.
“Furthermore, the threat posed by the Boko Haram sect through online reports of their activities needs to be effectively checked.’’
The CDS said the Defence Headquarters has sucessfully deployed Information Communication Technology (ICT), surveillance and tracking equipment to locate criminals and Boko Haram insurgents.
But he said more would be achieved ‘’if we apply cyber technology and space researches to tackle the country’s contemporary security challenges.”
Air Chief Marshall Petinrin said criminals have attacked cloud-based servers in a global fraud campaign affecting about 60 banks worldwide, stealing billions of dollars.
