Digital Currencies Vital to Payment System Future — CIBN

• Digital Currencies Vital to Payment System Future

The President and Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Prof. Segun Ajibola, has said the adoption of digital currencies in some economies will impact the future of the global payment system.

He spoke in Lagos while delivering a speech entitled, “Virtual/cryptocurrency: Evolution, regulatory challenges and impact on the future of payments and settlement systems,” at a forum organised by the CIBN Centre for Financial Studies.

While examining the impact, of digital currencies on payment and settlement systems in the future, Ajibola stressed the need for financial regulators and other industry stakeholders to envisage the threat posed by the digital currencies.

The CIBN president, who was represented by the First Vice-President, Dr. Uche Olowu, said, “This virtual form of business transactions has been named the highest performing and most valuable currencies in the world for two years in a row.

“The adoption of cryptocurrencies, particularly the bitcoin, in recent years in some economies, is poised to have an overarching impact on financial transactions across the world.”

According to him, the virtual currency, which is traded without middlemen such as banks, other financial institutions or regulatory institutions’ interference like Central Bank of Nigeria and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, has the power to greatly impact entrenched traditional payments and settlement systems.