CASHLESS POLICY, FINANCIAL INCLUSION AND THE PROFITABILITY OFDEPOSIT MONEY BANKS IN NIGERIA

The transformation of the financial sector of the Nigerian economy has always occupied a cardinal position in the economic policies of all political administrations in Nigeria. Using electronic banking as a platform, the cashless policy was introduced to further deepen the financial market microstructure. This study examined the impact of cashless policy on the profitability of deposit money banks in Nigeria, against the backdrop that these banks in a cash based economy are known for their huge profits even in the face of associated high cost of operations. Basically, will deposit money banks in the cashless regime still make as much profits as they use to make? To address this, secondary data were collected and analysed using content analysis comparing profits under cash based policy with a cashless regime. The result shows a positive relationship between the profit levels of DMBs and the explanatory variables.