Improved national planning, financial inclusion, understanding of the country’s true Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as well as enhanced economic activities, have been highlighted as some of the benefits accruable to the Nigerian economy from the adoption of mobile money technology.
These and others, such as reduced cost of cash handling and cost of funds, convenient and secure payment methods, were identified by Stanbic IBTC Bank’s Obinnia Abajue, head of personal and business banking division (PBB) while speaking on the theme, “Opportunities in Nigeria’s Emerging Cashless Economy”, at the Mobile Money Round Table organised by BusinessDay Conferences in Lagos.
Abajue further observed that mobile money would integrate Nigeria’s huge informal economy, which is driven by unbanked small scale farmers, traders, craftsmen and other types of small and medium sized businesses, into the formal economy.
According to him, lower transaction costs, convenience and the secure nature of the mobile money platform would strongly appeal to these segments of the society.
Abajue said, “government and banks have been at the forefront of channeling the huge funds in the informal sector through the formal banking system, to bolster economic development. Mobile money will fast track this harmonisation; and also identify economically active people, who were previously in the shadows, where it concerns the huge informal cash economy, enabling them to have access to credit facilities.”
He added: “Mobile money will bring about transparency, improved remittances and economic activities across various sectors of the economy, both in urban and rural areas. To achieve this, it is imperative for the regulators, licensed operators and other stakeholders to embark on an awareness campaign to educate Nigerians about the benefits of mobile money. This will drive its acceptance, thereby accruing huge benefits to the economy.”
