$5.1 billion dollars spent on cash management in Nigeria

It seems the management of cash is not just a security risk it’s also very expensive these days. According to a report released by MasterCard, it was revealed that Nigeria spends an estimated $5.1 billion yearly on printing and handling cash. That implies that Nigeria is spending a whopping 1% of our annual GDP on cash handling. This is a huge amount which can be saved and channeled into other areas of the Nigerian economy is the CBN’s cashless policy is vehemently undertaken in all States in the country.

There are a number reasons for the need to reduce the circulation of cash in our economy, such as  the insecurity of cash movement, maintaining economic stability by controlling inflation, and most importantly, reducing the cost of minting and circulating adequate cash across Nigeria.

The Nigerian government should be the main driving force behind the cashless policy, necessary infrastructure, incentives and policies should be put in place to enable a quick transition to a cashless Nigerian society.