Confusion trails commencement of ‘Cashless Lagos’

THE much publicised commencement of ‘Cashless Lagos’, on Tuesday, being the first working day of the year, was riddled with confusion
as some of the bank workers, particularly the tellers did not understand the nitty-gritty of the policy.

Investigations carried out by the Nigerian Tribune in some of the banks in Lagos showed that customers that went to lodge or withdraw above N150,000 were subjected to a long wait in efforts by the bank officials to get directives and clarifications from their respective head offices.
In one of the branches of an old generation bank at Ketu, Lagos, affected customers were seen being educated on the implications of above the limit lodgment/withdrawal, oblivious of the fact that the charges will actually commence on March 31 this year.
This situation was replicated in some other banks on Lagos Island. At Access Bank and Union Bank branches on Marina, the managements deployed the customers’ relations units to educate customers on the new policy.
The cashless policy, an initiative of the Bankers Committee, was introduced by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to migrate from cash-based economy to electronic payment economy.
It chose Lagos for the pilot project effective January 1, 2012 and would extend to other major cities by June this year.
Under the policy, the apex bank said only Cash In Transit (CIT)-licensed companies were allowed to provide cash pick-up services. Banks will cease cash in transit lodgment services rendered to merchant-customers in Lagos from December 31, 2011, stating that any bank that continues to offer cash in transit lodgment services to merchants will be sanctioned accordingly.
According to the apex bank, cumulative daily limits each for withdrawal, and for deposits for individuals, the daily free withdrawal limit will be N150,000, while the daily free deposit limit is also N150,000. The limits, it stated, applied to the account so far it involves cash, irrespective of channel: over the counter, ATM, third party cheques encashed over the counter, in which cash is withdrawn or deposited.
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