Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is to introduce new rules to improve how debit cards and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) work in Nigeria, according to Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the apex bank.
Cardoso, made this known through Fatai Karim, his special adviser, at an event held over the weekend.
According to him, the new rules are meant to solve ongoing problems with cash withdrawals and to restore public trust in electronic payment systems.
The CBN explained that banks will now be required to issue debit cards based on the number of ATMs they have installed. This means a bank should not issue too many cards if it does not have enough ATMs to support them.
The policy is expected to reduce long queues at ATMs, frequent machine breakdowns, and uneven access to cash across the country.
The CBN noted that repeated ATM failures and cash shortages have made many Nigerians lose confidence in digital banking, even though electronic transactions are increasing.
The Governor said the new policy will soon be introduced to clean up the system and ensure banks properly balance the number of debit cards they issue with the ATMs they operate.
