CBN Reverses Policy: Nigerian Pilgrims To Receive Cash Over Debit Cards Citing Financial Literacy Concerns

This decision followed the intervention of Vice President Kashim Shettima, who made a compelling appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on behalf of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and concerned pilgrims.

The Vice President’s plea highlighted the challenges posed by a card-only policy, particularly for the largely rural and financially less-literate population that makes up the majority of Nigerian Hajj participants.

Speaking with journalists after a meeting with the Vice President, NAHCON’s Commissioner for Policy, Personnel Management & Finance, Aliu Abdulrazaq, confirmed that the CBN granted Nigerian pilgrims the opportunity of cash transactions for this year’s Hajj.

A statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, Abdulrazaq explained: “The meeting was prompted by the policy of the federal government on the card for Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) for 2025 Hajj operations. We have held a series of meetings before now. The Vice President intervened and invited the Central Bank’s Deputy Governor with a plea.

“Out of the magnanimity of the CBN and appeal made by the Vice President, they dropped the idea of a card for pilgrims in the 2025 Hajj, and they conceded to people having cash instead of a card. This is a landmark achievement for NAHCON.

“If you go to Saudi Arabia, mostly the areas where the pilgrims are going to perform their rituals, there is only one Automated Teller Machine there, and it is always crowded – it poses so much difficulties for pilgrims to purchase whatever they want to purchase.

“Secondly, 95 per cent of the pilgrims from Nigeria are peasant farmers, and they have difficulties with electronic payments. Even with the cash, some of them have difficulties identifying the currencies. These variables make it important for them to have the cash they are used to.

“From now on, we are even more confident that the Hajj operations will be very seamless for the pilgrims. All arrangements have been in top gear, but the BTA was our fear; today, the fear has now been addressed.”

The CBN had earlier in the year introduced a new payment method for Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) for Nigerians embarking on the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage.

Under the revised system, each pilgrim would be issued an ATM card for withdrawals and transactions during the pilgrimage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The initiative made it mandatory for all intending pilgrims to open a BTA-linked bank account.

Adding his voice to the new development, NAHCON’s Secretary, Dr Mustapha Muhammad Ali, clarified that the change is neither a concession nor a subsidy from the federal government.

“There is a need for clarification we want to make. It is not a concession or intervention by the federal government. It is not a subsidy either. The Vice President intervened because most of the pilgrims make purchases in the streets of Mecca or Medina, and they do not need debit cards to make their purchases. Now it is allowed for them to carry cash. The CBN will provide the cash at the market rate,” he said.

Explaining the CBN’s intervention in the matter, the Director of Human Resources at the CBN and Board member representing the CBN in NAHCON, Abba Muhammad Aliyu, said the CBN granted NAHCON’s request because the welfare of Nigerian pilgrims was of utmost interest to the Nigerian government.

“Looking at the financial literacy of the pilgrims, there is a need for us to see that we make life easy for them because a lot of them do not know how to operate the ATM. So, these are some of the reasons the senior management of the Bank, in their own magnanimity upon the call of the Vice President, looked at those issues.”

He further clarified that the government was done with the concessionary issue, saying, “What is happening is purely a mode of payment method. Instead of asking the pilgrims to carry a card, they are only going to be paid through cash.”