The Nigerian National Domestic Card Scheme was on Thursday launched by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The scheme, according to the CBN, is part of efforts to reshape the country’s payment landscape.
“The domestic card scheme is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s national payments system and deepen the use of electronic platforms,” CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele said at the virtual launch.
He maintained that the new scheme is intended to give domestic consumers more options and to promote the delivery of services in a more innovative, cost-effective, and competitive manner.
Emefiele also assures Nigerians that the move will provide more opportunities to integrate the country’s informal sector, reduce shadow banking, and bring more people into formal financial services.
The governor of the central bank praised the Nigerian banking community for rising to the challenge of strengthening the national payments system by implementing a Domestic Card Scheme.
“This effort is not aimed at discouraging international service providers from continuing to operate in Nigeria,” he added.
According to him, the policy aimed at giving domestic consumers more options will also encourage the delivery of services in a more innovative, cost-effective, and competitive manner.
“The CBN is committed to a strong, efficient, and secure national payments system, and we welcome innovation from both domestic and foreign firms,” he said.