ABSTRACT
The impact of cashless society on emotional value and significance of money with emphasis to Nigeria economy. The main aim of the study was to determine the cashless policy affect the Nigeria economy. Primary sources of data were adopted which involves the administration of questionnaires designed in likert scale format. The design adopted for the study was survey research design and data administered were analyzed percentages and t-test with the aid of SPSS. The study finds out there is significant relationship between values of cash transfer from Automated Teller Machine on Gross Domestic Product and Value of point of sale has significant relationship on Gross Domestic Product. It was recommended that there is need for an increase in installation of more automated teller machine in the country and particularly Bida, Niger State. This will in turn increase the gross domestic product and the cost associated with transacting with point of sale terminals should be reduced so as to encourage e-banking policies thereby increasing the gross domestic product.
CHAPTER ONE
Cashless economy is a global issue apart from the fact that Nigeria just launched itself into the system. The prevalent question often asked is
what is cashless society all about? Will there be cash elimination in the economy? The simple answer to this question is no. Simply put, a society
that minimizes the use of cash through alternative channels of payment operates a cashless society. Money is what money can do and not
necessarily physical cash. According Adewale [10], “A cashless society rightly illustrates a gradual movement of the entire payment system of an economy from the use of physical cash for all levels of personal, corporate, governmental including local and international commercial settlement activities to a systemic adoption of other non-physical cash mode payment in settlements of all types of transaction both in the public and private sectors of an economy.
The discussion in respect of the history of cashless society Nigeria project as enunciated by the CBN in 2010 were outlined and elaborated yet
buttressing on the basic provision of the central bank’s policy in respect of the project.
According to Financial analysts and other critics across the world, the cost of producing and managing cash money in most countries have
reached the pick and sometimes gone beyond 0.5% of the entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP). They have also argued that money itself has no
value as it is just a printed paper by the authority of government empowering the Central Bank, what is of value, is the confidence placed in
money which gives it the ability to command acceptability in settlement of transactions. However, as much as there is the need to change into a
society where cash will no longer be dominant in the payment system, proponents of cash money have on the other hand claim that in the
developing and the underdeveloped nations physical cash money is still the most convenient means of settlement of transactions as a result of
illiteracy, and Nigeria is very guilty in this regard”.
In a Nation with over 150 Million inhabitants, the proponents of a cashless society in Nigeria argued that it will aid in the drastic reduction in
money laundering, terrorist financing and other economic and financial crimes. Others believe that a cashless society will encourage financial
inclusion for most Nigerians since less than 30 per cent of bankable Nigerian adults own bank accounts. A larger percentage of the population
rather keeps their money under their mattresses, in their pockets and probably in old cooking pots [11][12][13].
Scholars also opined that a cashless Nigeria will promote and implement realistic monetary and fiscal policies that will reduce inflation and
encourage investments [11][14]. Ladeinde [15] mentioned that the strike action in January of 2012 against the removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria
was a litmus test for how effective the cashless society will run. He mentioned that during the strike, Nigerians were left with no means to carry
out financial transactions other than the use of ATM machines and electronic payments. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently pegged
daily cash withdrawals and lodgments by individual to N150,000 and corporate bodies N1m respectively with effect from the 1st of June 2012
[15].
Also according to [16] the circulation of money works all the way round the economy from the ten percent of bank accounts which tops all
savings with about 75 percent of total cash value having direct and indirect impact to over 75 percent of Nigerians without a bank account. This
will eventually propel more employers to demand their employees to maintain a bank account in order to minimise the cost of operating in
Nigeria, so that casual labourers or student, drivers, security-men, teachers, traders and so on will not be paid in cash, but would be required to
own and operate a bank account. As a result of this, the banking infrastructure will be under intense pressure as they may not be able to handle
the inflow of large new accounts. The advent of mobile banking platform will only reduce the physical contact as the issues of opening and
signing of accounts cannot be done online. This will result in having more locations to meet the needs of prospective clients.
There will be explosion in stockpiling in the black market if selling at 10 to 20 percent below what it cost in banks. This will result in wide
assumptions that may influence production, supply, demand, availability, prices and the stock market may not be spared. Judging from the
historical perspective of policy implementation in Nigeria, administration of this policy may not be effective or may eventually fade out and
could be described as an addition by subtraction” [16]