The Central Bank of Nigeria has said it plans to facilitate the introduction of Automated Teller Machines that can dispense coins to encourage Nigerians imbibe the culture of spending them.
According to agency reports on Monday, the CBN’s Head of Shared Services, Chidi Umeano, said the move was part of the currency restructuring exercise.
Umeano said that the coins-dispensing ATMs would hasten the acceptance of coins by Nigerians and change misconception about their use, adding: “To achieve this plan, what is needed is to facilitate the inclusion of a process called “add-on” to the ATMs.
“Good enough, the existing ATMs have the “add-on: feature that will easily make them adapt to coins dispensing.
“It is very possible to achieve Automated Teller Machines that will dispense coins.
“This “add-on” feature can be activated on the ATMs at any time by the CBN and this is not new because it is being practiced in advanced countries.
“This proposal is in consonance with our cash-less policy and also in line with the CBN’s effort to encourage Nigerians to appreciate coins.”