Recall the apex bank had in October 2022, introduced the card which it said will be launched in partnership with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) and the Bankers Committee.
As reported by The Nation, the credit cards which are expected to compete with other international debit cards like Mastercard, Discovery, Verve and Visa cards have been scheduled for deployment.
Speaking on the card, the CBN noted that it will allow local banks and other financial institutions to offer seamless payment solutions like debit, credit, virtual, loyalty and tokenized cards, non-interest cards, and identity cards.
Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, Nwanisobi Osita, said, “Considering the strength and breadth of its banking sector and the rapid growth and transformation of its payments system over the last decade, Nigeria is ideally positioned to successfully launch a national card scheme.”
As Nigerians await the deployment of the credit card, here are five key things to note about the newly launched cards.
1) With the launch of this credit card, the CBN is set to become Africa’s first central bank to drive the domestic card scheme joining countries like India, Turkey, China, and Brazil.
2) The credit card which is locally produced is set to rival other giants like MasterCard, Visa, Discovery and other such cards as Nigeria aims to improve the country's data sovereignty and security.
3) The card will augment the CBN's effort to ensure seamless dissemination of government-to-person payments and other social impact initiatives thus supporting the growth of a robust digital economy.
4) There is currently no confirmation if the card can be enabled for international transactions as its application has been restricted to transactions within the country for now.
5) The new card scheme will also reduce the operating costs of cards in the country for both card issuers and customers. Charges accruing to the card are expected to be lower as it will be charged in the local currency - Naira, against other cards charged in foreign currency.