An existential threat is facing petty traders and transporters as cash crunch bites harder in Nigeria.
This is as most consumers now prefer to patronise malls, established transport companies and other corporate businesses than going to the open market squares, where petty traders and individual transporters only ask for cash payment.
A journalist, Mr Tony Okafor, who was trying to avoid paying cash for condiments for the preparation of a pot of soup for his family, said he had to resort to buying the ingredient for soup in a mall.
“I didn’t know how I could go to the market to tell a woman selling pepper or fish that I want to make transfers to them, so I resorted to buying everything at Roban Stores.
“That was how I bought an ice fish that was reddish. I didn’t know such a specie of fish existed, but I had to make do with it, even though it was not my choice.
“Of course, I had to pay higher to prepare just one pot of soup, but it was better than not having food at all,” he lamented.
Okafor is not the only Nigerian involved in this. Many Nigerians have jettisoned open market square transactions because of the involvement of cash. Another journalist, Ikenna Ezenekwe shared a similar experience. The journalist, who is an Abuja resident, said he bought condiments for making soup in a mall, including stockfish, dried fish, which Igbo people refer to as ‘okporoko’.
Also, many independent transporters are losing customers everyday because they do not have means of collecting fares from customers, except asking for cash.
Such customers now resort to visiting established transport companies, who use POS (Point of Sale) machines, or even online booking. Such companies, even though they charge higher, debit their customer’s bank accounts through their ATM (Automated Teller Machines) cards