You don hear am? Naija don dey shine for digital payments matter o! E don rise like 276%, and dat one na no small news! Na Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) dey yarn dis matter, talk say dem see dis growth for dem annual conference wey happen on Friday. The big man, Governor Olayemi Cardoso, no even show face; him send im Special Adviser, Fatai Kareem, go do di talk.
Cif be say, dis digital payment wahala don gather serious steam, but no be say cash don dey go old school. Dem still dey use cash well-well. From 2020 join 2025, cash wey dey waka around don increase from N2.4 trillion to roughly N5.1 trillion. Na 4.6% increase wey make sense year-on-year as at December last year. E mean say, cash no wan hear say make person forget am.
Di CBN oga, Cardoso, talk say Naija payment system don change plenty in di last ten years. Cash still dey important for areas wey dry, especially rural communities, but electronic payment dey bring beta things like transparency and efficiency. Dem just need to balance am well, make cash and e-payments dey waka together like friends and not rivals.
Dem come talk say banks need to up their game, invest for technology, and no allow ATM wahala spoil things. If dem do am well, dem fit solve plenty issues wey dey ground, and make everybody trust di electronic side of things. Na only if dem fit blend cash and digital payments together, Naija go fit move forward tru tru.
Also, the First Vice Chairman of CHBO, Tolulope Ogundipe, don drop gist say we dey face big challenge now—cash and digital payments dey dance around each other. E mean say cash dey still strong, especially for rural areas, but e no mean say we go deaf ear to di sweet sound of digital payments.
Dem don give us figures wey show say electronic transactions don really jump, but na because of power outages and other wahala wey dey burst dem; cash don still reign supreme. For di first half of 2025 alone, ATM withdrawals don reach N36.34 trillion; na serious jump from N12.21 trillion last year. This don show say cash still dey important anytime wey our technology play pranks on us.
Di Managing Director of Bankers Warehouse, come drop serious matter, say we need to hold cash well for banking system make e no dey waka go here and there without returning home. If cash dey waka on di street, wetin go happen to monetary policy? E mean say we no go sabi how much cash we dey deal with, and dat one be problem wey we fit solve sharp-sharp.
Di koko be say, whether na cash or digital, wetin matter pass na how dem fit join hand together make our lives better, and avoid wahala when we dey make transactions. Na so we go sabi say Naija dey grow in terms of technology, and still hold our cash tight.
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