As economic gaps continue to reduce purchasing power, and consumptions across all sectors of the economy, disposable income has shrunk with fear recessions from currency tradesmen.
The charges levied by money deposit banks and Point of Sales (PoS) on Nigerians who make use of their services for cash withdrawals is cutting into their purchasing power while putting further homes in precarious conditions and sucking harships.
Presently, PoS operators charge their customers an average of N2,000 on every N10,000 withdrawal. also, most money deposit banks have programmed their ATMs to apportion only N1,000 and N2,000 per withdrawal tonon-customers to charge N35 per on every withdrawal.
Against the backdrop of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) financial policy of redesigning N1000, N500 and N200 notes to control inordinate cash in the economy, consumers across the country are presently passing innumerous difficulty as a result of the apex bank’s incapability to inject the amount of new notes commensurable with the old notes, which has almost been exhaustively withdrawn from the economy.
In addition, the unavailability of fuel in rural and urban areas has plunged an average consumer in double jeopardy.
The ongoing crunch has, in no small measure, affected person-to-person, person-to-business and business-to-business deals across Nigeria.
On a visit to Oke-Arin, a popular grocery market on Lagos Island, AFLM Correspondent learnt that the market, which used to be bustling with wholesalers, retailers and consumers, has become a ghost of its old self.
Speaking with AFLM Correspondent, a wholesaler, Mrs. Funmi Isijola who deals in wines and spirits, said it has been so delicate to even sell 10 cartons of wine in a day due to insufficiency of cash and challenges they encountered while using online banking.
The insufficiency of cash is a big challenge for us dealers. I typically sell nearly hundreds of cartons of wine daily, but since this change of currency started, it has been delicate to make sales. We’re just managing; I haven’t sold up to five packs as I’m speaking with you right now. that the government finds a solution to this policy before it gets out of hand, ”she said.
Another dealer, who sells beverages at the same market, stated that, sales have dropped drastically as people now prepare to buy basics rather than what they can do away with.
I still believe that my coming to market today won’t be in vain because as it stands, I haven’t been suitable to make any sales since I opened the shop. Today, being Thursday, we don’t open until 10:00am, coupled with the low insufficiency of cash and even fuel is really contributing to low sales, ”she said.
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Attesting the Oke-Arin scenario, a market survey carried out at Ikorodu Market, saw traders lamenting on low sales. A visit to a butcher’s shop simply known as Mr. Akeem, also confirmed low sales.
You can imagine that we that are selling meat are complaining about lack of sales. What should other people say? We the sellers don’t even have enough cash to buy cows from the abattoirs. Another problem we’re having is the challenges of transferring money online. We’ve encountered so numerous failed transactions which has redounded in us not collecting transfers from our customers and even buying, ”he lamented.
In the same development, a chemist also noted that sales dropped for some days because people do n’t have enough cash to buy drug.
On a visit to Ogba Park in Ikeja Local Government, Lagos, Olabisi, a commuter, explained her trial in trying to get cash to move around. She narrated how she nearly got stranded at the motor park because she didn’t have cash to pay for a motor fair.
I don’t understand where we’re going in this country; I couldn’t pay for my transformation fair yesterday because I ran out of cash. I decided to use the ATM but it wasn’t dispensing, I went to a POS vendor who wanted to charge me N300 on N1,000. I was at the bus stop for a very long time before I saw someone who paid for my transport fair, ” she said.
A unnumbered commercial bus drivers, who also shared their hassles, said some passengers now offer to make bank transfers when they board the bus, which now and then end in bitter disagreements.
