The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the use of cash for Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) for Nigerians participating in the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage, following the intervention of Vice President Kashim Shettima.
This decision marks a reversal of the CBN’s earlier policy which required all pilgrims to access their BTA through ATM cards. The change comes after Vice President Shettima made a special appeal to President Bola Tinubu on behalf of over 40,000 intending pilgrims through the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the Vice President at the State House in Abuja on Thursday, NAHCON’s Commissioner for Policy, Personnel Management and Finance, Aliu Abdulrazaq, described the approval as a “landmark achievement” for the Commission.
“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,” Abdulrazaq said.
“Out of the magnanimity of the CBN and the 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.”
He noted that the policy shift was necessary due to infrastructural limitations in Saudi Arabia.
“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,” he said.
Abdulrazaq added that the decision was also influenced by the background of the majority of the pilgrims.
“Ninety-five percent 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,” he explained.
Also speaking, NAHCON’s Secretary, Dr Mustapha Muhammad Ali, clarified that the shift was not a subsidy or a concession by 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,” he said.
“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.”
Director of Human Resources at the CBN and a board member representing the bank in NAHCON, Abba Muhammad Aliyu, said the decision was guided by the pilgrims’ welfare.
“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,” Aliyu said.
“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 stressed that the government was not offering a discount or financial incentive.
“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,” he said.
The decision comes after concerns were raised over the feasibility of using debit cards for transactions during Hajj, especially in areas with limited banking infrastructure and digital literacy.
Earlier in the year, the CBN had introduced a new system requiring pilgrims to open BTA-linked bank accounts and use ATM cards for all transactions in Saudi Arabia.
However, critics argued that the policy was impractical and posed serious risks to the success of the pilgrimage. The Vice President’s intervention has now resolved one of the biggest concerns ahead of the 2025 Hajj.
“All arrangements have been in top gear, but the BTA was our fear,” Abdulrazaq said. “Today, that fear has now been addressed.”
