Nigeria has launched a National National Card Scheme led by the African Central Bank, AfriGO, to boost the nation’s economy.
Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele revealed this at the unveiling ceremony on Thursday.
The new card, AfriGO, would be accessible to all Nigerians and is expected to strengthen the national payment system and deepen the use of electronic platforms in Nigeria, Emefiele said.
According to him, the new card scheme aims to provide more options for national consumers and, at the same time, promote the provision of services in a more innovative, profitable and competitive way.
He said CBN’s cashless policy had created value, created competition and attracted investment in Nigeria’s banking and payments ecosystem.
The CBN Governor assured Nigerians that the card scheme would open up more opportunities for the Nigerian economy to integrate the informal segment of the economy, reduce shadow banking and attract more Nigerians into formal financial services.
He praised the Nigerian banking community for accepting the challenge of strengthening the national payment system through the implementation of AfriGo.
Emefiele also assured international service providers that the new scheme was not designed to bar them from entering Nigeria.
“This effort is not a search to prevent international service providers from continuing to provide services in Nigeria.
“Their goal is to provide more choice for domestic consumers while promoting service delivery in a more innovative, profitable and competitive way,” he said.
He added that Nigeria would no longer neglect the vast majority of Nigerians whose daily payment needs are micropayments.
