The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, has issued an apology to the people of Nigeria for the recent uptick in unsuccessful online banking transactions.

On Tuesday, after a two-day meeting in Abuja, the CBN governor gave a closing statement.

Nigerians have had a difficult time making effective banking transactions using their mobile apps, USSD platforms, and debit cards since the naira redesign policy was implemented and a cash crisis ensued.

Emefiele addressed the issue and stated that the central bank’s payments system management division worked hard to restore electronic banking channels as soon as possible.

“I must apologise. Yes, online channels fail. But no doubt it is as a result of the deluge of online transactions that hit the banking industry. But it is being resolved,” Emefiele said.

“On a daily basis, our payments system management department monitor the online payment platforms so as to make sure that when there is a downtime, they are quickly resolved so that transactions can go on smoothly.”

He also praised fintechs for facilitating smooth transactions for Nigerians by reducing the strain on traditional banks.

On money supply, Emefiele said the implementation of the naira redesign policy has resulted in the reduction in currency outside the banks.

“At the beginning of the naira redesign policy we said that there was about N3.23 trillion in circulation out of which only N500 billion was held in the banking system, while N2.73 trillion was outside the banks,” the CBN governor said.

“It was published yesterday that currency in circulation is close to N1 trillion. CBN will continue to pump the newly redesigned currency into the market.

“The truth is that at some point we will need to reassess to know whether the currency in circulation has attained an optimal level so as to put in place measures to ensure that we don’t go to the level where we were when people kept money outside the banking system for their own benefits”.

YNaija