INCLUSIVE CASHLESS SOCIETY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA: THE ROLE OF DIGITAL EDUCATION

Inclusive cashless society – where everyone has access to basic banking and digital infrastructure, such as reliable internet and affordable smartphones is key to achieving sustained economic growth in Nigeria through digital education. This paper empirically examined inclusive cashless society and economic growth in Nigeria: the role of digital education between 2010Q1 and 2024Q4 using the institutionalist variant of the political economy method. Both descriptive statistics and the ordinary least squares (OLS) method of multiple regression analysis were utilized in data analysis. The result of the OLS revealed that Automated Teller Machine (ATM) has a positive and a significant relationship with Per Capita Real Gross Domestic Product (PCRGDP) proxy for economic growth in Nigeria. The OLS result also revealed that Point of Sale (POS) terminal has a positive and a significant relationship with PCRGDP, proxy for economic growth in Nigeria. The result of the OLS further revealed that both Web pay and Mobile pay has a negative and a significant relationship with PCRGDP, proxy for economic growth in Nigeria during the period of study. The paper further revealed that digital education is fundamental to achieving inclusive cashless society and economic growth in Nigeria through the adaptation of necessary digital skills. The study recommended amongst others that to reinforce the positive long-run impact of cashless payments on economic growth in Nigeria, the government should implement policies that incentivize banks and fintechs to deploy and maintain cashless payments technologies in rural and semiurban areas. The paper also recommended that digital education should be introduced into our educational curriculum in order to improve our digital skills towards achieving an inclusive cashless society and economic growth in Nigeria.