The Cashless Policy, as we know it in Nigeria, was officially introduced and became fully operational in 2014 – with the aim to encourage electronic banking and to reduce physical cash in circulation – which would in turn decrease cases of cash-related crimes. One way of implementing this policy is through the use of ATM cards.

It is true that the advancement of technology has generally made our lives easier and more convenient. But, the adage “whatever has advantages, also has disadvantages” is not left out in the case of electronic banking. With the development of ATM machines and electronic cards for mobile banking, there are some risks and exposures associated therewith.

Some of these could devastatingly leave you broke in the blink of an eye; whereby, you find out the money you have worked so hard to accumulate has vanished with the stroke of some keys.

The Cashless Policy was met with e-banking fraud. There were reports of banks and individuals losing a lot of money to fraudsters, despite the regular checks put in place by financial bodies to curtail the loss of an individual’s hard-earned money.

The onus, therefore, falls on all responsible individuals to guard and protect their assets – Yes, your ATM card is an asset.

It is important to know how to handle your cards and make sure you’re not only using it correctly but smartly.

Automated Teller Machine (ATM) means a machine that dispenses cash and also performs specific banking services at the user’s convenience.

It is a dedicated payment system and the ATM card is issued by banks and other financial institutions for ease of financial transactions. It usually comes in the form of debit cards, which means you must have monetary assets with the said bank, to be able to use the card for transactions.

In order to handle your card wisely, you must be intentional about the money that comes into and goes out of your pocket. You cannot leave anything to chance. Have a plan for your money and stick to it.

To protect your card from external harm, there are few tips you must acknowledge and start getting familiar with.

• Protect your pin: You must not give out your Personal Identification Number. As the name connotes, it’s your very own personal form of identification, which grants you electronic access to your money. If for any reason your PIN gets exposed, you must immediately reset it. Furthermore, do not write it down on a piece of paper or if you must, do not leave it exposed or in your wallet
• Always report suspected cases of fraudulent activities: When you’re in the know about your finances, any discrepancy will immediately come to your notice. Some people do not recover from cases of fraud, because they didn’t discover it on time. Remember that the earlier you report a problem, the sooner it gets resolved. On this note, you must always be familiar with all bank transactions and statements. If you notice at any time that your card is missing – especially when you’ve been out with it, and you suspect it’s been stolen, report it immediately and block that card.
• Be cautious of the ATMs you use: Always use one that is associated with banks. Avoid any machine that may be situated in suspicious locations. In as much as it grants ease as a means of solving our problems, compulsive use of your ATM card should be avoided. Even with the extra charges attached to card transactions these days, you really would be doing yourself a favor by being careful of where you insert your card in your bid to avoid bank ATM charges.
• Do not be careless with your phone: Try as much as possible to avoid being careless with your phone or any other device that may contain your bank information. Always create security profiles for your gadgets. It doesn’t take much for someone to access your details and wipe your bank account clean. Make sure that your phone is protected by a password or pin and whenever possible, delete traces of money transactions from your gallery or messages, after you must have successfully backed them up of course. Just remember that your card information could be contained on your phone and leaves you to exposure if mishandled, so handle with care.
• Do not use public wireless connections for financial transactions: In fact, you should always be wary of all public wireless access. It is a fast and unsecured way for a third party to gain access to your private information. You could as well leave that information on a billboard for the whole world to access. Be sure to use password-protected wireless connections, it makes it more difficult for hackers to access your details.

Bottomline

Try to change your pin every few months. Keep it simple and short, only using codes you can remember.

Conclusively, while it is very convenient to use debit cards or ATM cards for financial transactions, you wouldn’t find it funny to learn that someone has emptied your account on the spot. Hence, it is important that you take precautionary measures to always keep your card safe.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed the implementation framework for the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund.

This was disclosed in a publication by the Development Finance Department under the auspices of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The CBN stated that the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (N-YIF) would be funded through NIRSAL MFB window, with an initial take-off seed capital of N12.5 billion.

READ: #EndSARS: FG creates new N25 billion Youth Fund, to increase to N75 billion in 3 years

The N-YIF aims to financially empower Nigerian youths to generate at least 500,000 jobs between 2020 and 2023.

Objectives of the scheme:

•  Improve access to finance for youths and youth-owned enterprises for national development.
•  Generate much-needed employment opportunities to curb youth restiveness.
•  Boost the managerial capacity of the youths, and develop their potentials to become the future large corporate organizations.

Explore Data on the Nairametrics Research Website

What you should know

Recall that on the 22nd of July, 2020, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the sum of N75 billion for the establishment of the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund for the period of 2020 – 2023.

The fund was created to support the innovative ideas, skills and talents of Nigerian youths, and to institutionally provide Nigerian youths with a special window for accessing much-needed funds, finances, business management skills and other inputs critical for sustainable enterprise development.

• The fund targets young people between the ages of 18 and 35 years.
• Beneficiaries of NMFB, TCF and AgSMEIS loans, and other government loan schemes that remain unpaid are also not eligible to participate.
• Individuals (unregistered businesses) shall be determined based on activity/nature of projects subject to the maximum of N250,000.
• Registered businesses (Business name, Limited Liability, Cooperative, Commodity Association) shall be determined by activity/nature of projects subject to the maximum of N3.0 million (including working capital).
• The tenor of the intervention is for a Maximum of 5 years, depending on the nature of the business and the assets acquired, of which interest rate of not more than 5% under the intervention shall be charged annually.
• The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (FMYSD) will collaborate with relevant stakeholders to identify potential training for training/mentoring.
• The youths that are duly screened (and undergo the mandatory training where applicable) shall be advised to login to the portal provided by the NMFB to apply for the facility.

READ: CBN raises alarm over fraudulent loan offers, investment schemes with charged fees

Tech startup, Paystack has disclosed that it partnered with Google to aid over 500,000 Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

This was revealed via its Twitter handle.

READ: Airtel is partnering Standard Chartered Bank as it expands its fintech business

Shola Akinlade, Founder of the company, stated that the partnership would enable the reliability of their work, “which would guarantee that all businesses paid via Paystack are thoroughly checked for legitimacy and credibility.

“In a low-trust environment like Nigeria, where many people are paying online for the first time, it’s important to deliver a safe, fraud-free experience, and this is a responsibility that Paystack takes extremely seriously.”

READ: Nairametrics announces Strategic Data Partnership with Statista

Explore Data on the Nairametrics Research Website

⚡️ Hi team, we partnered with our friends at @Google to help over 500,000 SMEs in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa restart, recover and digitise their businesses with new tools, financial support, and training.

Get started here 👇🏾 https://t.co/0fdVl4ZUBp

— Paystack (@paystack) October 28, 2020

(READ MORE:Paypal to offer Cryptos by early 2021)

Why it matters: Paystack’s partnership with Google is to help SMEs to grow and digitise their businesses with new tools, financial support, and training. This would also help business communities in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa to rapidly grow.

What you should know: Google is an American multinational technology company that specializes in internet-related services and products.

READ: BTC bounty: 69,000 Bitcoins worth $700 million waiting for you

Nairametrics reported that the company had a partnership with Truecaller in 2018 to aid in the facilitation of online payments across Africa. The deal states that Paystack will use Truecaller’s database of verified phone numbers to authenticate payments for transactions executed on its platform.

Click here to apply.