The Managing Director of Umuchinemere Pro-credit Micro Finance Bank, (UPMFB) Enugu, Mrs. Nnenna Maria Ekete, has decried the introduction of the cashless policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), saying it would constrain microfinance banks (MFBs) from fully catering to the financial needs of their customers.

Pointing out that the cashless policy is very inimical to the progress and operations of MFBs, Ekete called on government to either review or keep the policy on hold till such a time adequate banking technology awareness must have been created.

“Though it is an ideal and well intended policy aimed at making Nigeria a cashless society, but it is coming at the wrong time due to the low level of technology awareness and high mass illiteracy in the country, making it almost impossible for the greater number of the people to embrace it.

“I implore the government to come up with other means of payment, create adequate awareness and develop our technology of payment because the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) seems not good or reliable enough, hence people’s apathy to using it, compounded by the situation that a greater number of members of the society are not literate enough to operate ATM.

“How do we take care of paying poor salary earners of small scale entrepreneurs when the policy says no corporate body can withdraw more than N1 million in a day, and we may have to pay more than N5 million as salaries to more than 3000 bank customers.”