The House of Representatives on Tuesday resolved to examine the level of compliance with the country’s cashless policy by government agencies and business outfits.
This, the House said, was with a view to ensuring smooth implementation of the policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The resolution followed a motion by Rep. Edward Pwajok (Plateau-PDP), which was unanimously adopted by the House.
Moving the motion, Pwajok expressed worry that the objectives for which the CBN introduced the policy were not being adhered to by public and financial institutions.
He said the policy was partially successful in few cities because there seemed to be no measures in place to compel adherence.
“Many supermarkets, shops, hotels not only still transact business in cash, but outrightly inform customers that they accept only cash,” he said.
Pwajok said installation of ATM machines within the premises of supermarkets, hotels and shops to enable citizens withdraw cash for transaction was counter-productive to the policy.
According to him, Nigerians are compelled to withdraw huge amounts of cash with charges and the attendant risks.
These risks, he said, included exposure of people to armed robbery, shortchange of amounts withdrawn and failure of some ATMs to dispense cash.
The lawmaker, therefore, advocated increase in the online transactions in the country from $300 to $500 as well as Point of Sales transactions from $1,000 to $5,000 dollars.
Pwajok urged the CBN to review the policy on foreign exchange in a manner that would continue to protect the country’s foreign currency.
The lawmaker said the measure had ensured that Nigerians “realistically and legitimately transact businesses globally”.
After debate of the issues, the House mandated its Committee on Banking and Currency to cause a review of the policy and report back within eight weeks.
NAN.