Technology has come to stay. It has really made life so easy for us as humans. I have never thought that a day will come when you can move around without having physical cash, but still be able to carry out purchases. That's really convenient if you ask me. But then, the big question is: How many people embrace this cashless policy? Whose fault is it that so many people do not trust the system?

In 2012, the Nigerian government set up this cashless policy, hoping that it will thrive and that her citizens will embrace it. Just like some other countries that have this policy, it is expected that it works well. In fact I expect that about 95% of the citizens are going to applaud this policy. However, the reverse is the case. As a matter of fact, the number of persons who open accounts in banks and prefer to stand on queues everyday has increased. And I am wondering, is it that these people just like to suffer or that they don't even understand what it means to go cashless?

Well, truth be told, there are so many reasons why people prefer to walk into banking halls to carry out their transactions. Let's look at some of them:

• Have you ever used the point-of-sale (POS) and discovered that the network is so bad but have been debited? I wouldn't pray for this to happen to even my enemy because the stress of retrieving your money may make you get so angry to the point of giving up. You may end up chasing your money for up to 3 months. People who have had this experience will rather die on the long queues at banks than ever try to carry out transactions with POS.

• How about the outrageous bank charges when carrying out bank transfers? Recently, I was trying to send some money to my mum using the USSD code and it declined at first. I got the no-service message. I tried again and got the same message. So i relaxed and told myself that I would try in few hours again. Unfortunately, I didn't know that all of those transactions went through. They debited and credited me again. When the money was reversed, it reduced due to the bank charges for the transactions. I was so pissed and wished I had gone to the bank to carry out the transaction. I am sure a lot of persons have gone through the same stress and have vowed to always use the banking hall instead.

• The population of the uneducated seems to be higher in the country. It is only a handful of this category that may understand and embrace the cashless policy. Even the elderly have been accustomed to carrying cash. So, it is a very big challenge.

• The government also has a big role to play in this matter. How do you expect people to trust the system when our government officials are not giving us reasons too. It will just end up being a dead end because until there is political stability, this cashless policy will continue to shake.

Conclusion

For a cashless policy to work effectively in Nigeria, the government needs to first put in place measures to ensure that they can fight cyber-security. Believe it or not, there will be increase in cyber theft. So in order to tackle the termites, you need to cut the tree first.

There is also a high rate of illiteracy level when it comes to the knowledge of ICT. And this is a very important step not to ignore. If there is a way to create more awareness to the public especially people living in the rural areas and the elderly too, just maybe the problem will be 20% solved.
I love to see the cashless policy thrive in Nigeria. I just hope that one day, that will become a reality.

Lead photo is created by me using canva app free tools

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