this is way to 'promote' CBDC adoption - increase the friction on the use of cash or digital alternatives. From the POV of the central govt, you can see why CBDC makes sense - it will certainly increase state power, and by extension, national power. Interesting to see Nigeria pioneer these techniques, I wonder whether Africa will end up leading the way here
Nigeria bans ATM cash withdrawals over $225 a week to force use of CBDC
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Re: Nigeria bans ATM cash withdrawals over $225 a week to force use of CBDC
#3255% of Nigerians have access to electricity. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS?location... Seems like the government knows their priorities.
Excepting COVID, where the line went flat, it seems to be consistently improving. Compared to the other countries in Africa, I'd say they are on par or much better off. Not a great situation, but seemingly improving at a steady clip, so maybe it isn't as bad as the bare number would imply. To steel-man the government's motives, I might hazard a guess they are hoping that a digital currency will attract more investmen…
The government is just looking for a way to save face for their failed economic policies. They’re setting up this law in a country where digital banking is unreliable; it’s not uncommon for bank networks go down for hours.
Because of how reckless they’ve managed our economy, banks are finding it difficult to access foreign exchange. One consequence is that I can no longer spend the equivalent of more than $20 per month from my local debit card on payments, so I have to resort to using cryptocurrency to pay for my websites and domain names…this is a horrible law set by a clueless government that just wants more control over citizens but won’t fix simple things like electricity and roads.
Re: Nigeria bans ATM cash withdrawals over $225 a week to force use of CBDC
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
Who doesn't like paying 5% for getting the money that they already own?
I think the policy is outrageous, but that doesn't make the title correct. Also, 5% is not really significantly more than the typical fee an ATM already charges.
Not true in Nigeria…if you use an ATM from the same bank you hold your account, you won’t be charged any fee. If you use another bank’s ATM, you’ll be charged a flat fee of 35 naira ($0.08).
Re: Nigeria bans ATM cash withdrawals over $225 a week to force use of CBDC
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
Excepting COVID, where the line went flat, it seems to be consistently improving. Compared to the other countries in Africa, I'd say they are on par or much better off. Not a great situation, but seemingly improving at a steady clip, so maybe it isn't as bad as the bare number would imply. To steel-man the government's motives, I might hazard a guess they are hoping that a digital currency will attract more investmen…
By introducing a CBDC, the Nigerian government hopes to attract revenues that come from remittances, which have mostly shifted to crypto channels because of poor international trade policies. Today, getting USD liquidity as an importer/exporter is challenging, as there are two market rates - one for banks & few institutions, the other for individuals & the vast majority of the economy. To find competitive rates, peop…
Not discounting the value of the other facts you shared, but how does digital currency change the status quo if the problem preventing remittances through official channels?
Isn’t it yet another official channel that lacks the same international trade connections just like regular bank accounts?
Re: Nigeria bans ATM cash withdrawals over $225 a week to force use of CBDC
#35This is programmable money where the government controls how and when you can spend it. It does not take long for most people to figure out how this restricts their freedom. I guess they will make it a bargain in some way such as charging a higher rate for cash as they are doing here. This may be a training ground for other governments to learn how to force or incentivize us to use their CBDC's.
Programmable money is like programmable computation, there are infinite applications on the spectrum of good and evil. If we are going to allow programmable money, we must allow competitors (e.g. citystate crypto, nationstate crypto, non-CB crypto) and incumbent payments like cash. https://cashessentials.org/us-considers-legislation-on-manda... > The Payment Choice Act is a bill that would require applicable retail b…
> there are infinite applications on the spectrum of good and evil.
Which means it should be firmly in the hands of the people and never in those of a centralized government, in particular, never one which collects taxes directly from the people.
> If we are going to allow programmable money, we must allow competitors (e.g. citystate crypto, nationstate crypto, non-CB crypto) and incumbent payments like cash.
Well.. precisely. At this point, though.. what incentive to the population is there for a central government "programmable" token of value?
Re: Nigeria bans ATM cash withdrawals over $225 a week to force use of CBDC
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Programmable money is like programmable computation, there are infinite applications on the spectrum of good and evil. If we are going to allow programmable money, we must allow competitors (e.g. citystate crypto, nationstate crypto, non-CB crypto) and incumbent payments like cash. https://cashessentials.org/us-considers-legislation-on-manda... > The Payment Choice Act is a bill that would require applicable retail b…
> there are infinite applications on the spectrum of good and evil. Which means it should be firmly in the hands of the people and never in those of a centralized government, in particular, never one which collects taxes directly from the people. > If we are going to allow programmable money, we must allow competitors (e.g. citystate crypto, nationstate crypto, non-CB crypto) and incumbent payments like cash. Well..…
> Well.. precisely. At this point, though.. what incentive to the population is there for a central government "programmable" token of value?
None
Re: Nigeria bans ATM cash withdrawals over $225 a week to force use of CBDC
#37I wonder if this may lead to unintended consequences /s
Re: Nigeria bans ATM cash withdrawals over $225 a week to force use of CBDC
#38This is programmable money where the government controls how and when you can spend it. It does not take long for most people to figure out how this restricts their freedom. I guess they will make it a bargain in some way such as charging a higher rate for cash as they are doing here. This may be a training ground for other governments to learn how to force or incentivize us to use their CBDC's.
Programmable money is like programmable computation, there are infinite applications on the spectrum of good and evil. If we are going to allow programmable money, we must allow competitors (e.g. citystate crypto, nationstate crypto, non-CB crypto) and incumbent payments like cash. https://cashessentials.org/us-considers-legislation-on-manda... > The Payment Choice Act is a bill that would require applicable retail b…
I am reminded of an episode of the 1995 TV show sliders, where people can withdraw unlimited cash from ATMs but it puts them in the draw for population control measures.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0702744/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_...
Re: Nigeria bans ATM cash withdrawals over $225 a week to force use of CBDC
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
> there are infinite applications on the spectrum of good and evil. Which means it should be firmly in the hands of the people and never in those of a centralized government, in particular, never one which collects taxes directly from the people. > If we are going to allow programmable money, we must allow competitors (e.g. citystate crypto, nationstate crypto, non-CB crypto) and incumbent payments like cash. Well..…
> Well.. precisely. At this point, though.. what incentive to the population is there for a central government "programmable" token of value? None
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Re: Nigeria bans ATM cash withdrawals over $225 a week to force use of CBDC
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Programmable money is like programmable computation, there are infinite applications on the spectrum of good and evil. If we are going to allow programmable money, we must allow competitors (e.g. citystate crypto, nationstate crypto, non-CB crypto) and incumbent payments like cash. https://cashessentials.org/us-considers-legislation-on-manda... > The Payment Choice Act is a bill that would require applicable retail b…
> there are infinite applications on the spectrum of good and evil. Which means it should be firmly in the hands of the people and never in those of a centralized government, in particular, never one which collects taxes directly from the people. > If we are going to allow programmable money, we must allow competitors (e.g. citystate crypto, nationstate crypto, non-CB crypto) and incumbent payments like cash. Well..…
> what incentive to the population
Historical incentives have often been closer to stick than carrot. One scenario could be a change in the definition of legal tender, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOuiWIID2vo. If there is sufficient awareness voiced by the general population, elected representatives could have the political capital to push back against those lobbying for new powers in a post-CBDC economy.