The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has commenced the deployment of the National Domestic Card Scheme.
The card is designed in partnership with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBBS) and it seeks to unify payments in Nigeria and onboard the unbanked population.
The card will compete with other debit cards like Mastercard, Discovery, and Visa cards but it cannot process international payments for now.
As a result of its introduction, local banks and other financial institutions will be positioned to offer payment solutions like debit, credit, virtual, loyalty, tokenized cards, non-interest cards, and identity cards.
While announcing the deployment CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications Department Osita Nwanisobi, revealed that the National Domestic Card was launched because of its belief that Nigeria had achieved “significant transformation in its payments system over the past decade.”
He added that this has been driven by “rapid digital and technological innovation, increasing mobile penetration, and the proactive policy initiatives of the CBN which have spurred unprecedented adoption of digital financial services.”
He said the benefits of the card scheme to include reduction of cost and use of foreign exchange, protection of data sovereignty, enabling locally relevant propositions, and making cards and payments more accessible and affordable for Nigerians.
“Given that MasterCard, Visa, Discovery, and other such cards are foreign controlled, CBN said National Domestic Card would ensure “improved sovereignty and security of our data and its operations will be locally based. It will also help to improve and drive financial inclusion nationwide”.
“The card also has the potential to leverage its platform for seamless dissemination of government-to-person payments and other social impact initiatives, ultimately enhancing financial inclusion and supporting the growth of a robust digital economy,” CBN added.
The card will be delivered through Nigeria’s central switch, the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) Plc, in partnership with the Bankers Committee and other financial ecosystem stakeholders.
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