The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has stated that going forward, dollar charges on all domestic cards and online transactions would not be permitted.
Emefiele said all transactions on existing local bank cards must, therefore, be routed through the Nigerian National Domestic Card scheme which he officially unveiled yesterday.
Speaking at the virtual launch of the card scheme, the CBN governor pointed out that at a time when foreign exchange challenges had persisted globally, the central bank came up with the domestic card scheme to “ensure that all card transactions, including online transactions where you’re using cards, will now effective immediately, begin to go on the Nigerian National Domestic Card System.”
Emefiele, however, clarified that, though there was nothing wrong with existing local bank cards, customers are at liberty to continue using them.
He said, “But given that charges by foreign cards are in dollars, we will no longer pay dollars for charges on those cards.”
He said, “All domestic card transactions that are going to be conducted in Nigeria will have to be through the Nigerian domestic card.”
“We would only pay dollars for charges on transactions that are done with this domestic card or foreign cards outside Nigeria.”
He did say, though, that the CBN wasn’t trying to stop international service providers from continuing to work in Nigeria.
He said, “Rather, it is aimed at providing more options for domestic consumers while also promoting the delivery of services in a more innovative, cost-effective, and competitive manner.”
