The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced plans to roll out a new regulatory framework aimed at improving debit card issuance and Automated Teller Machine (ATM) operations across the banking sector.
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, disclosed this through his Special Adviser, Fatai Karim, at an event held over the weekend. He said the initiative is designed to address persistent cash access challenges and rebuild public confidence in electronic payment systems.
Under the proposed policy, banks will be required to align the number of debit cards they issue with the size of their deployed ATM infrastructure. The measure is expected to reduce congestion at ATMs, curb frequent system downtime, and ensure more even cash availability nationwide.
According to the CBN, recurring ATM failures and cash shortages have continued to undermine trust in digital payment channels, despite the rapid expansion of electronic transactions within Nigeria’s banking system.
“Very soon, the Central Bank will be coming up with another policy to sanitise and improve the situation, particularly around how many cards banks issue relative to the number of ATMs they support,” Karim said.
The apex bank believes the new framework will enhance service delivery,
improve customer experience, and strengthen the reliability of electronic payment platforms.
Rewrite it in punchy tabloid style or formal policy tone
