Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, said that the implementation of bio-metric authentication for Point of Sales (PoS) and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) will commence by 2015.

Sanusi, who was represented by the FCT Branch Controller of the CBN, Mr John Chukwudifu, spoke  in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the stakeholders sensitisation programme on the cashless policy.

He said that the measure would address the safety of customer’s funds.

Reports say that the cashless policy took effect from July 1, in the FCT, Anambra, Ogun, Abia, Rivers and Kano.

“The Biometric authentication for POS and ATMs to address safety of customers’ fund and avoid losses through compromise of PIN is being considered and it will be implemented by 2015,’’ he said.

He said that the cashless drive of the apex bank did not mean the absence or replacement of cash but a drive for safe payment system for customers.

“The cashless drive by the CBN does not mean the absence or replacement of cash, however, it is the provision of safer and efficient alternatives of payment for bank customers.

“A safe and effective payments infrastructure is core to the financial stability of any country,’’ he said.

Sanusi said that displacing cash as a preferred means of payment, remained a major challenge in Nigeria.

He said that direct cost to cash as at 2012 was estimated to reach N192 billion.

This cost, he said was being passed onto customers in the form of bank charges and lending rates.

The governor said that the apex bank had licensed some mobile scheme operators with the view to bringing the un-banked or financially excluded into the banking culture.

He said that efforts had been made to ensure that fraud was reduced in the use of cash, to build customers confidence in the use of the ATM cards.

“The CBN has taken a giant step to gain the confidence of the ATM consumers, following the circular enforcing migrating from magstripe type of debit card to chip and pin type of debit card.

“Statistics show that this effort has reduced fraud incidence by 90 per cent.

“Many customers are now embracing the use of electronic channels in their transactions because of the near impossible efforts of would-be fraudsters to clone debit cards to perpetrate fraud, as it was the case during the pre-migration era,’’ he said.

He said that the framework for mobile scheme operators, recognised the need to comply with best international standards and global regulation particularly on the area of know your customer and anti-money laundry requirement.

Also speaking, the CBN Head of Share Services Department, Mr Chidi Emeano, said that the bank had introduced ways to reduce cost for banks and ensure effective implementation of the policy.

He identified the lack of understanding of policy, infrastructure lag, poor communication, customs challenges on clearing and exorbitant bank charges, among others as major challenge facing the policy.

Participants at the sensitisation programme were drawn from operators of deposit and micro-finance banks.