The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that it is introducing a National Domestic Card Scheme effective from January 16, 2023.
The bank noted that the initiative is in line with its mandate to promote stability, inclusion and growth in the financial and payment system and will be delivered through the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) Plc, which is the country’s central switch, in conjunction with the Bankers Committee and other financial ecosystem stakeholders.
The card scheme is also expected to foster innovation within the Nigerian domestic market, while enabling African and international interoperability, allowing banks and other institutions to offer a variety of solutions including debit, credit, virtual, loyalty and tokenized cards amongst others.
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The central bank, in a statement issued by CBN Director of Corporate Communications, Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, noted that the scheme could also be leveraged as a platform for the seamless dissemination of government-to-person payments and other social impact initiatives.
Nwanisobi said:
“The CBN recognises the significant benefits from delivering Africa’s first central bank-driven, domestic card scheme, which, when delivered at scale, has the potential to become the largest in Africa, and one of the largest in the world.”
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