The Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cautioned banks and other electronic payment service
providers in the country to navigate to the evolving and increasing complex
regulatory environment to avoid penalty.
The caution
was given by the Director, Banking and Payments System Department, CBN, Mr.
‘Dipo Fatokun, in a statement made available to The Punch.
Fatokun made
this known at the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria Bi-Monthly
Forum in Lagos on Saturday, while making a presentation.
In the
statement, he described fraud as the biggest challenge facing the electronic
payment sector, stressing the need for banks, customers and regulators to
tackle it.
“Electronic payments continue to be a growth
story across the world and Nigeria is not an exception, but banks and other
service providers face a number of challenges in ensuring that they make the
most of this opportunity,” he said.
He said the
Nigerian electronic payments industry had been evolving in line with the
evolution in global payments in both wholesale and retail systems.
Fatokun said
banks, payment service providers, and the CBN had played various roles in
developing the payments system and creating products and channels for
electronic payments.
“The ATM
channel accounts for the highest volume of transactions, while the NIP accounts
for the highest value of transactions annually. This is because the ATM is
usually the e-payment channel that new and lower value account holders always
interface with, while corporates and upwardly mobile middle class customers
make transfers using NIP,” he said.
He said the
Retail Payments Transformation Programme of the CBN had led to the introduction
of various electronic payment products and services by operators in the
industry.
“The
electronic products are gradually reducing the usage of cheques and cash, as
noticed consistently in the annual performance report since the inception of
the Cashless Policy in 2012,” he said.
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