By Nik Ogbulie
The protracted cash crunch reminiscent of big festivities returned to the country, less than four days to Xmas.
Nigerians have taken the resurfacing of the miasma for granted based on the impression that a new government is in place to renew the hope of Nigerians with a brand new Central Bank given to excellence. But unfortunately, the development, which started like a joke few weeks ago has risen to a dimension where some banks do not have cash at all and those that have could only dispense an amount not good enough to pay for “roasted corn”.
Bank officials are not ready to discuss this development which seems to shame their efforts to improve financial inclusion as most of them seem to be pointing their two fingers at the CBN while the other three are pointing at them; an indication that the development looks more like a mutually executed discomforts to the teeming population, especially for the over 133 million Nigerians who depend solely on cash transactions.
MoneyReport investigations reveal that banks have more reasons to believe that the apex bank may have floated this occurrence as a way of optimising her cashless project since the growth in the use of customers e-channels has remained largely marginal in the last two years. This belief may have been vindicated by the fact that the CBN has laid serious emphasis on the expedited use of customers echannels by making the recommendation a footnote in all her correspondences/memos with banks in recent times.
But the apex bank has countered the indication by banks, insisting that banks are engaging in sharp transactions with POS agents through whom they scoop their treasury and divert a good portion of the deposits for financial benefits. A bank was believed to have been fingered within the week where teller clerks made direct deposit to POS owners while depositors wait in vain. In a swift reaction, banks noted that the CBN may not have any response or plan to manage this development based on the allegation that money classified as badly mutilated are being returned into bank vaults for payment to customers, most of which are now being rejected in the open market. Banks have been worried that the apex bank has continued the supply of mutilated notes for payment.
What creates confusion in the market is the availability of fresh and new currencies considered as mint at various weddings and other ceremonies where cash is meant to be sprayed. While customers do not mind whether they have the old or new currency, socialites have access to both in quantum.Nigerians who have been told that the development was as a result of the level of corruption in the administration of past executives of CBN are no more amused as this allegation has fallen flat on truth.
They are now of the opinion that the Federal Government has sold sour grapes to them. While the apex bank reels out multiple instructions to banks on this development, the development is getting deeper and deeper with transactions in the market getting so tight.
Conversely, banks are not creating many new echannel holders as the very poor Nigerians are not enthused to clutch plastic money, especially when dealers of their favourite items do not accept cards. It looks like a renewal of the focus on cashless transaction must be made so that the informal operators in the economy must be seriously involved.
Without this, the tendency for government to either reduce or withdraw more money from circulation remain one huge miscalculation. However, all eyes have remained on the CBN as major culprit and solution because it is its responsibility to manage financial system stability.
