The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday announced the introduction of a National Domestic Card Scheme which is effective January 16, 2023. The move is aimed at promoting stability, inclusion and growth in the financial and payment system and will be delivered through the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) Plc, which is the country’s central switch, in conjunction with the Bankers Committee and other financial ecosystem stakeholders. The card scheme was also expected to foster innovation within the Nigerian domestic market, while enabling African and international interoperability, allowing banks and other institutions to offer a variety of solutions including debit, credit, virtual, loyalty and tokenized cards amongst others. Nigeria remains Africa’s largest and most vibrant economy and the pace of digitisation and innovation, alongside the expansion of mobile penetration and the proactive policy initiatives of the CBN have driven the accelerated adoption of digital financial services. Considering the strength and breadth of its banking sector and the rapid growth and transformation of its payments system over the last decade, Nigeria is ideally positioned to successfully launch a national card scheme. Building on this platform to accelerate financial inclusion requires infrastructure that can deliver lower cost payments services that are more accessible and affordable for Nigerians.
THISDAY