There has been several policy changes and reversals within the Nigerian financial services sector over a short period of time. Could Bitcoin and the Blockchain have saved the sector from this web within which it has been entangled?
Changing monetary policies seem to have become a prevailing trend in the Nigerian financial services sector over the past few months. We have observed full-fledged bans on certain payment modes, several adjustments in the foreign currency regulations , partial lifting of bans, introduction of new financial transaction systems and several other counter-policies all within a space of six months, such that the rate of change has become a matter of utmost concern to investors within the country.
For a nation that is predominantly import-dependent, FOREX policies will always have a huge impact on the economy . Both the large and medium scale investors have been rattled by the hectic rate of change in policies witnessed within the very recent past, the latest of which being the approval of transfers from the domiciliary accounts of customers of commercial banks . One of such emails sent by Guaranty Trust Bank to its customers reads as follows: “We are pleased to inform you that you can now transfer Foreign Currency Cash deposits made into your GTBank domiciliary account(s) via Internet Banking , Mobile App or at any of our branches nationwide, subject to a daily cumulative limit of $10,000. Thank you for banking with us.” Mixed Feeling
There seems to be a sigh of relief with this development as investors see it as a process that will bring back the missing flexibility in their ways of carrying out transactions , even though some are still skeptical about it, due to the frequency of the change of policies lately.
Hetty Hembadoon Orkuma is a bookseller and the […]
