Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has accused banks and Point-of-Sale (POS) operators of being behind the cash scarcity in the country, threatening to deal with them if they do not stop this act.
In a statement issued by the acting Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, Mrs Sidi-Ali Hakama, the banks and the POS operators were alleged to be colluding to profit from the hardship residents of the nation were going through at the moment.
Recall that Business Post earlier reported that the worsening Naira scarcity in the country had forced operators to jerk up their transaction fees.
Most commercial banks have stopped dispensing cash from their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) points, while at over-the-counter (OTC), they ration cash to customers, in one of the big lenders, they pay as low as N5,000 per day, and in others, as high as N50,000 per day.
The situation has caused panic among Nigerians, who have not forgotten quickly the trauma of cash scarcity in this same period of last year and earlier this year.
Though the first experience was caused by the Naira redesign policy of the CBN, the apex bank has yet to give any concrete reason for the current situation.
In the statement issued by the CBN yesterday, it expressed frustration at the “inappropriate actions” of the banks and the POS operators, saying it was “investigating the reported cases capable of undermining the smooth running of the economy.”
“Meanwhile, members of the public are encouraged to use alternative payment channels as well as report any case of unauthorised activities, such as capping and hoarding, by banks or PoS agents to the CBN branch in their locations.”
