Money

Lawmaker demands revamp of bank e-payment platforms

Published

2 months ago

March 24, 2023

Lawmaker demands revamp of bank e-payment platforms

The members of the House of Representatives have demanded that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) direct banks to revamp their electronic transaction systems in light of recent CBN policies that have increased the reliance on online and electronic banking.

The CBN had implemented policies that limited the amount of cash that could be withdrawn at the bank at once and also redesigned the notes of N1,000, N500 and N200, causing an uproar in the country.

At the plenary on Thursday, Representative Sergius Ogun proposed a motion urging the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to direct all commercial banks to enhance their online banking services to facilitate electronic banking operations.

Ogun proposed that Section 88 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution gives the National Assembly the authority to investigate the operations of anybody that implements laws passed by the National Assembly, such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He stated that the CBN was created under Section 1 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, Cap. C4, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to provide legal tender currencies in Nigeria. He added that the CBN Act also assigns the bank the responsibility of maintaining a sound financial system in Nigeria.

He said that the House recognizes the rise in the use of electronic banking services since the Central Bank of Nigeria’s introduction of the naira redesign and cash withdrawal limit policy, as an alternative to carrying out monetary transactions.

“The House also acknowledges that the use of online or internet banking services by Nigerians in the past three months or thereabout has been characterised by varying degrees of hitches, ranging from unsuccessful electronic bank transfers, Point of Sale service failure and a host of others.

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“The House is disturbed that the ineffectiveness or difficulty in using internet banking services across the online banking platforms of most commercial banks in Nigeria has brought untold hardship, suffering and difficulties on Nigerians in the past three months.”

Ogun added, “The House is worried that if nothing is done by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the commercial banks to address these difficulties or ineffectiveness, Nigerians will continue to suffer untold hardships and loss of monies to unsuccessful electronic bank transactions.”