The efforts of the last CBN governor in his bid to make the Nigerian economy cash-less is credible.

So far, we have seen positive results with more businesses adopting the P.O.S electronic payments system.

There were hiccups initially with bad networks and lack of electricity to keep them charged but somehow they meandered through it all and more people are now opened to swiping their cards in restaurants and supermarkets.

I for one don't usually carry cash. I usually make my withdrawals and shop for my immediate needs for at least a couple of days. Then I'm left with a little money which is somehow sensible and safe in the sense that I stand to loose a lot less just in case of a robbery or mere carelessness.

Such instances have happened to me in the past and In some cases I was a bit lucky while sometimes I lost a lot.

The crux of the matter now and the reason for this write up is the issue of access to credit.
I for one love credit, not just because I could get something I couldn't afford at any point in time but for the convenience attached to it.

Nigerian mobile networks have been able to adopt this credit facility as a strategy to sell even more with MTN's extra credit and other products by Aitel, Etisalat and Glo.

I think it's about time Nigerian banks start issuing Credit cards to their loyal customers and not just salary accounts as being practised by some banks.

With the new BVN policy which is being put into effect by the CBN, I believe a more accessible credit line being offered by Nigerian banks would expand the economy. This is speaking from a layman's point of view.

There should also be credit assessments and credit scores awarded to customers who transact more with such cards. I am not an economist but common sense only tells me that would be a better way to put the several billions of dollars lying fallow in a few people's accounts.

Great economies around the world are build by ordinary people with small businesses and the Nigerian economy cannot be build on a few people's business empires I.e Dangote and the likes.

Please let the appropriate authorities know so at least the economic hardship the common man is feeling can be eased up a little bit.

Easy access to credit is convenient, easy access to credit means growth.



Just thinking out loud.

Lalasticlala, Seun, Obionscopy over to you. Please let's get people's view on this.

Let's kill corruption first and then reduce our unemployment rate to 10 to 15 percent. With those effected, credit card will work in our vicinity.

#NigeriaGoKukuBetter

I hope they have good cyber security before issuing credit cards.

Benjom:
Let's kill corruption first and then reduce our unemployment rate to 10 to 15 percent. With those effected, credit card will work in our vicinity.

#NigeriaGoKukuBetter

Corruption cannot be totally killed, it can only be reduced while 10% to 15% unemployment may be achievable in the long run. However, with the BVN in place, debt recovery would be a lot easier.

@donvicky2007 I believe there is enough cyber security in place already and the debit and prepaid cards they issue presently are also being used online.

Nice one. I sure would love to be a beneficiary of that.

We'll surely get to that level one day

Yes, but when we get to that stage... For now we already have ATM Mastercard and visa cards, which can be used on ATM machines and for online transactions... We are still growing, everything in life is about stages

DOA....i'll just swipe $1m , ask a family memeber to open an account for me..i continue to enjoy the money

what am i saying
the thing is your need to upgrade the average nigerian mentality first before anything else

Not ecobank ✌

if they like

Nigerian Banks issue Credit, Debit and some even offer Prepaid cards. (At the moment the credit cards are limited to naira and dollars in most banks)

Visit your bank site and see. Requirements for having one are also available.

As in, bank go loan us money ne?? Me I don't get ur drift o. Hexplain the inssue please..

With the current state Nigeria is in, credit opportunities will not work in that system - except may be for a select few, but yet it won't be same as in sane countries.

The reason is simple. The US for example has a unique identifier for everybody living there legally - Social Security Number (SSN). Nigeria doesnt. With the SSN, everything else can be linked - your properties, debts, equities, family members, criminal history, insurance records, census reasons etc.

Every business in the US (an example) can decide if you are credit-worthy once they look through your past records from your SSN. Banks, financial firms, employers, etc and rely on that to make informed decisions.

If it took forever for Nigeria to think about BVN, how much longer would it take to implement something close to SSN that the US uses? Unless BVN will be used to represent SSN. But what about people that don't have bank accounts and don't need BVN?

The right approach would be to have a unique number assigned to every citizen in Nigeria, even babies. From that, everything else can be done. I thought that was the whole reason for the National ID card, until...

So, I won't blame banks if they don't think Nigeria is ripe for that yet. Like everyone, they don't want to lose money from people fleeing with funds they borrowed. The right system has to be put in place to establish a confidence level for them.

Hmmmm

We have. Its been around for a while now.

Please check the links below:

http://www.stanbicibtcbank.com/Nigeria/Individual/Transactional-accounts/Cards/Credit-Cards

https://www.firstbanknigeria.com/products/e-banking/debit-and-credit-cards/first-naira-credit-card/

I also know of Diamond, Access etc...

Ahhh! CC for 9ja now isn't advisable o!. Trust me, we ain't ripe for that yet. If not, I trust my people nah!. We'll sure bastardize it. though some Banks issues, but not really effective.

Nigerian banks do issue credit card if you meet the requirements for it.

Hmmmmmmm no need for Credit card wen prices of commodities are still on the high side.

That na one chance ooo!

Diamond Bank issues credit cards to its customers, even if they don't have their salary accounts there. I've been using the credit card for about 6 years now and it's really been helpful. Just walk into any of their branches and find out.

Credit card in Nigeria is going to be a debt to the bank

When will nigerian government have a central database and social security number

Stanbic IBTC AND Diamond Bank issues credit cards na.

Marley01:
As in, bank go loan us money ne?? Me I don't get ur drift o. Hexplain the inssue please..

Yeah! It's more like banks give you access to spend a certain amount over a period of time to pay back in future with interests.

blym4real:
Nigerian banks do issue credit card if you meet the requirements for it.

I hope the requirements are not too stringent.

rodeo0070:
We have. Its been around for a while now.
Please check the links below:
http://www.stanbicibtcbank.com/Nigeria/Individual/Transactional-accounts/Cards/Credit-Cards
https://www.firstbanknigeria.com/products/e-banking/debit-and-credit-cards/first-naira-credit-card/
I also know of Diamond, Access etc...

Thanks a lot. I'll check out those links and see.

Hmm, it's already available but you must have a good credit rating to enjoy most of the cards to avoid stories that touch. Before you know some people will dump the card after incurring debt and it will be hard to track them.

Case study: you buy a network sim during a promo and when you are done you borrow big amount of credit and call all of ur friends and even enemies so that you can finish the airtime then you break the sim.

This is the reason

Nah. Nigerian banks would be taking a mighty risk by issuing credit cards at this time. Our system doesn't have a credible database and good security to counter credit card frauds yet.
It doesn't take much to forge identities and other documents that would facilitate a credit card issuance. Even though cards are linked to one's account, it still doesn't take much to open new accounts with forged documents, register for BVN with it, even register SIM cards, all with the intent of discarding all of it once you max out the card.

Maybe in the future but no time soon...

Have you ever applied for a loan from a. Nigerian bank They almost ask for your stool sample

Compared to like U.S. where you apply online, just enter your information and they approve, require further processing or deny.....
They only document they ask is copies of your recent pay stubs... Then the money gets deposited to your account... The same applies to credit card... When they approve your application, they just send you the card in a mail...

Cheers!!!