Abstract
The investigation on the effects of cashless policy as a strategic instrument in the fight against corruption in the public sector (a study of the Imo State Ministry of Land). The study aims to assess the effects of cashless policy on increasing transparency, its effectiveness in ensuring accountability, and its impact on decreasing cash handling in the Imo State civil service. Does a cashless policy foster transparency in the Imo State civil service? Does a cashless policy ensure accountability in the Imo State civil service? And how has a cashless policy affected the decline in cash handling in the Imo State civil service? These are the questions that the study answers. The null hypotheses are that a cashless approach has no effect on the decrease in cash handling in the Imo State civil service, does not foster transparency, and does not guarantee accountability in the Imo State civil service. Fred Davis' technology acceptance theory was used in the research. The study employs a descriptive survey research methodology, with a sample of 134 people from the Ministry of Lands' 201 workforce chosen using Taro Yemeni. Questionnaires were used to collect the data; 134 questionnaires were sent out, and 130 were properly completed and returned on schedule for analysis. The Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient statistical instrument was used to evaluate the data, and SPSS version 23 of the Software Package for Social Science was used to execute the data. The outcome demonstrates a link between cashless politics and transparency, responsibility, and cash management. As a result, the research suggests that Imo State's cashless policy has contributed to lowering corruption in the civil service and recommends that the state government make a concerted effort to create an internet security infrastructure that would prevent online fraud and give the public confidence and protection against cyberattacks and fraud. And there should be sufficient regulation covering every facet of the cashless system's functioning.