Almost everyone in private institutions understand some of the regulatory difficulties that central banks face when opening the market to new players and allowing a more diverse and competitive market to grow, while promoting innovation and transparency. Regulators in many countries are convening broadly-based industry councils to hear the market players and build a dialogue that benefits the country and the users of these financial services, within the country and internationally.
MPI, in a June 2015 document, reported that there were 376,000 Nigerians immigrants and their children living in the U.S. and that was the largest source of African immigration to the country. Of those, around 55 per cent were first generation Nigerians and the rest comprised mostly of second generation Nigerians .
With 45 per cent of Nigerians adults saying in a survey in 2018 that they plan to move to another country within five years, the highest share among 12 countries surveyed across four continents, the Nigerian Diaspora will certainly grow even more in the next decade.One of the most fundamental acts of Nigerians when leaving the country is in sending money back home.
In August 2016, a decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria to bring order to the remittance market left, for a little while that year, only Western Union, MoneyGram and Ria Money Transfers, as the CBN approved international MTOs, to work in the official market. That brought a lot of turmoil to the market but in the subsequent months, more MTOs were approved.
Telcos must develop separate entities as Payment Services Banks; it will be the first step upon receiving authorisation, as such the deployment of services will take time. I do think remittances could be impacted fairly soon if the right partnerships are built and marketing efforts are appropriate, both in the country and in the diaspora communities.
With the work of the Blockchain Industry Association of Nigeria , the Nigeria Blockchain Alliance and the Blockchain Nigeria User Group , we expect to see major developments of this technology in the country soon.