2012年1月2日 星期一

Cashless Lagos kicks off to herald new banking regime

The new policy,oil paintings for sale which stipulates a ‘cash handling charge’ on daily cash withdrawals or cash deposits that exceed N150,000 for individuals and N1,000,000 for corporate bodies, according to the apex bank, aims at reducing the amount of physical cash circulating in the economy, and encouraging more electronic-based transactions, such as payments for goods, services,China ceramic tile transfers,Ventilation system among others.

The scheme was announced last May by CBN, which imposes charges of N100 per N1000 for individuals and N200 per N1000 for coporate bodies for cash transactions above the limits. The apex bank said the policy would commence next December with a pilot scheme commencing in Lagos by January 1, 2012, with Port Harcourt, Abuja and Kano, following by June.

It stated that the aspects of the policy that would apply in Lagos State “tagged Cashless Lagos,” are as follows:
“Only CIT (Cash-in-Transit) licensed companies shall be allowed to provide cash pick-up services; banks will cease cash in transit lodgment services rendered to merchant- customers in Lagos State from December 31, 2011. Any bank that continues to offer cash in transit lodgment services to merchants shall be sanctioned.

Third party cheques above N150, 000 shall not be eligible for encashment over the counter. Value for such cheques shall be received through the clearing house; the service charges/fees will not apply until March 30, 2012, in order to give people time to migrate to electronic channels and experience the infrastructure that has been put in place.”

It, however, advised banks to encourage their customers to migrate to available electronic channels, and where possible demonstrate the costs that will accrue to those that continue to transact high volumes of cash from March 30, 2012 in Lagos State.
On the reasons for introducing the new cash policy, the banking said: One, to drive development and modernization of our payment system in line with Nigeria’s vision 2020 goal of being among the top 20 economies by the year 2020. An efficient and modern payment system is positively correlated with economic development, and is a key enabler for economic growth.

Two, to reduce the cost of banking services, including cost of credit, and drive financial inclusion by providing more efficient transaction options and greater reach.

Three, to improve the effectiveness of monetary policy in managing inflation and driving economic growth. In addition, the cash policy aims to curb some of the negative consequences associated with the high usage of physical cash in the economy, including: high cost of cash, high risk of using cash; high subsidy: CBN analysis showed that only 10 per cent of daily banking transactions are above N150,000, but the 10 per cent account for majority of the high value transactions. This suggests that the entire banking population subsidizes the costs that the tiny minority (about 10 per cent) incur in terms of high cash usage.

To justify its action the CBN governor had noted that high cash usage results in a lot of money outside the formal economy, thus limiting the effectiveness of monetary policy in managing inflation and encouraging economic growth, stressing that it enables corruption, leakages and money laundering, among other cash-related fraudulent activities.
The limits are cumulative daily limits each for withdrawal, and for deposits , for instance for Individuals, the daily free withdrawal limit is N150,000; while the daily free deposit limit is N150,000.Plastic mould

The limits apply to the account so far as it involves cash, irrespective of channel (like over the counter, ATM, third party cheques encashed over the counter, etc) in which cash is withdrawn or deposited (e.g. if an individual withdraws N50,000 over the counter, and N150,000 from the ATM on the same day,Plastic moulds the total the total amount withdrawn by the customer is N200,000, and the service charge will apply on N50,000 - the amount above the daily free limit). The limit also applies to cash brought through CIT companies, as the CIT company only serves as a means of transportation. The charges shall apply from March 30, 2012 in Lagos.

The service charge for daily cumulative deposits above the limit into an account shall be borne by the account holder.

However, during the pilot in Lagos, individuals paying money from Lagos, into an account outside Lagos, shall bear the charges for any single transaction above the daily limit.

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