Stories by PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

Nigerians are finally on the brink of the cashless society that futurists and others have forecasted years back.

Even when the Central Bank launched a major national campaign to persuade Nigerians and businesses to stop using cash and cheques in favour of online transactions, there were skeptisms.

Even on this note however, investors had calculated it would save the economy billions of Naira yearly, if there is increase in the use of electronic payments with debit cards, smartphones and online transfers.

And this became a major tendering for ad agencies to power a major marketing drive with budget estimated in millions.

Nigeria government set the example by requesting their establishments to stop the use of cheques, since they are one of the heaviest users of cheques.

Today, an average consumer owns at least two credit cards, and Nigerians are systematically abandoning paper bills for plastics and smartphone.

Even businesses that relied heavily on cash, for instance, hotels, superstores, airlines etc — now go cashless.

The recent celebration of the five years of Paga, a mobile payment platform in Nigeria, gives credence to the fact that the cashless society has finally berthed.

Paga, developed on the premise of simple and easily accessible payment solutions was implemented to negate the frustration of dealing with cash and other inadequate payment channels; the platform was founded by its Chief Executive Officer, Tayo Oviosu in April 2009.

Speaking on the company’s mission, he said: “our mission is to create a service that would transform lives by delivering innovative and universal access to financial services for all Nigerians.

With Paga you can pay for any goods, service or send money to anyone with a mobile phone number or any bank account instantly. Businesses can also use Paga for any of these services and also collect payments online from MasterCard, Visa, or Verve debit cards.

Customers can also receive Western Union remittances from anywhere in the world through their Paga accounts.”