The Central Bank of Nigeria on Wednesday said that fraud relating to Automated Teller Machine had declined by 98.5 per cent.

The Director, Banking and Payments System Department, CBN, Mr. Dipo Fatokun, said this at a sensitisation workshop on cash-less policy in Lagos.

He said, “Since the financial reform started, ATM fraud has reduced by 98.5 per cent, especially because of the introduction of the chip and pin card, which other countries copied from us. It has enough security in place to reduce ATM fraud.”

Fatokun added that the apex bank had licensed 15 mobile system operators to ensure that the cash-less policy was a success.

He said, “Because we know that the bank branches in Nigeria are not well spread, you go to some rural areas where you won’t find the branch of any bank, what we did was to introduce the mobile payment system. So you can go cash-less by making and receiving payment through the use of phone.

“We are having the challenge of infrastructure because as you know, cash-less policy depends on very good infrastructure. Another one is the issue of literacy and education. We also have the problem of confidence by the populace. The issue of settlement is also there and the CBN has taken a lot of measures to address all these.”

He said that currently the CBN was collaborating with the Nigerian Communication Commission to address the issue of infrastructure, adding that two technical committees were working on it.

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Taxation and Revenue, Mr. Abimbola Shodipo, said that the penalty fees charged on transactions above the CBN limit in Lagos was unconstitutional.

“According to the Nigerian constitution, you cannot charge a section of the country for a policy that is meant to take effect in the country. You cannot be charging Lagosians for the policy that you are test running simply because most of the transactions in the country are done in the state; In fact, the CBN should compensate the state for using it as a pilot scheme,” he said.

Although he said that Lagos State was not against the policy, he stressed that the state should not be singled out for punishment.

“Those who work in the bank will tell you that handling and managing cash cost money. If we go e-base, and most of the transactions are e-based, then the cost of running the banks will reduce, which will impact on cost of funds,” he added.

On bank charges, he said that the apex bank should look into indiscriminate charges by the banks.

“Banks are making immense profits at the expense of customers. For instance, if you keep N1,000 in a bank, if you are not careful, charges will take away 50 per cent without you even withdrawing anything,” he added.

Source: Punch/Ademola Alawiye