Mandatory adoption of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s cashless and e-payment policy: implications for bank customers

Abstract

This study seeks to uncover the projected gains and challenges of a cashless and e-payment policy in Nigeria, with particular emphasis on the wellbeing of bank clients, and to examine the extent to which the promised benefits of the policy were realized eight years down the line of implementation. Researchers provided copies of a research questionnaire to selected bankers and bank customers in Ogun and Lagos states of Nigeria to find perceptions of the two stakeholder groups regarding the subject matter. Three hypotheses formulated were tested using ANOVA. The paper reveals that the cashless banking initiative in Nigeria has significantly enhanced bank customer satisfaction; the implementation of the cashless banking structure in Nigeria has not led to a significant reduction in the level of cash fraud in Nigerian banks; and the adoption of a cashless economy practice in Nigeria has significantly improved the management of bank customer funds in terms of spending and saving. The paper, in particular, recommends that bank regulators constantly and widely cooperate with all key stakeholders in the system in the fight against cybercrime. This will make the electronic space safe and reliable for use in doing banking in Nigeria and beyond. Acknowledgment The authors wish to acknowledge Covenant University for its financial support during the work on this paper.