As public outcry continues to trail the re-introduction of the cashless policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the house of representatives has called for the suspension of the policy.
At the plenary session on Thursday, the lower legislative chamber said the policy will lead to a significant decrease in credit extension by Nigerian money deposit banks.
The lawmakers also said the policy will have negative impacts on small and medium enterprises “which are clearly the engine room for growth of the economy”.
In a circular released on Tuesday, the CBN had directed all deposit money banks in the country to charge 3% processing fees for withdrawals and 2% for deposits of amounts above N500,000 for individual accounts.
Corporate account holders will be charged 5% processing fees for withdrawals and 3% for deposits of amounts above N3 million.
The directive had, however, been criticised by some Nigerians for various reasons.
Samson Oyedeyi
