CBN domestic card program gains traction

In keeping with its duty to encourage stability, inclusiveness, and growth in the financial and payment systems, the Central Bank of Nigeria has introduced a national domestic card program that will go into effect on January 16, 2023.

Nigerians will start receiving a new electronic card for local transactions starting on Monday, and all fees associated with it will be levied in Nigeria, despite the bank’s failure to divulge the procurement cost and operational cost.

Debit and credit cards are processed as part of the card payment system.

The card is expected to compete with debit cards like Mastercard, Visa, and Verve that are already used in Nigeria.

At a press conference in October last year, the CBN, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc, and the Bankers’ Committee announced the new card program.

Premier Oiwoh, who is the managing director of NIBSS, explained at the conference how the domestic card program would cut costs for both card issuers and card users in the country.

According to Owoh, the card would be optimized for local content specifically for the Nigerian market and would handle micropayments and credit, e-government, identity management, transportation, health, and agricultural payments.

Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, Director of the CBN’s Corporate Communications Department, backed up Oiwoh’s claim by saying that Nigeria’s payment environment has grown and can now handle a domestic card program.

““Nigeria is the perfect place to start a national card program,” he said, because of the “strength and size of its banking industry” and the “rapid growth and change” of its payment system over the last ten years.

The launch of the new card comes as Nigerians are suing commercial banks over allegedly questionable and dishonest charges on their cards. The new card is expected to standardize payments across the banking industry.

The Bankers Committee and other players in the financial ecosystem will work together to get the card out to people through the NIBSS, which is Nigeria’s central switch.

Nigeria will now join Brazil, India, Turkey, China, and the United States, which have all made these cards available for use in their own countries.

The CBN says that the domestic card program would have a big effect on financial inclusion in Nigeria.

The goal is to introduce Africa’s first domestic card program, run by a central bank that combines a totally domestic infrastructure with global interoperability. With the help of our strategies, we will be able to change into one of the greatest card schemes in the world and the largest in Africa.

However, because its use is now limited to local shores, it is unknown whether Nigerians would be able to use it for international transactions.