POS leads e-payment transactions with 286m deals

Point of Sale (POS) transactions is leading other e-payment channels, rising from nine million transactions in 2013 to 285.89 million last year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said.

CBN Deputy Governor (Financial System Stability), Mrs. Aishah Ahmad, who broke the news at the weekend, said that Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transactions rose by over 196 per cent (295 million in 2013 compared with 875 million in 2018.

However, electronic transfers, via web, rose 2,440 per cent (from two million in 2013 to 50.8 million in 2018 while  paper-based payments transactions using cheques declined from 14 million transactions conducted using cheques in 2013 to nine million transactions in 2018. Mrs. Ahmad spoke at the Electronic payments Incentive Scheme Efficiency Awards held in Lagos at the weekend.

Mrs. Ahmad said the Nigerian payment system has changed significantly and continues to evolve.

She said: “New technologies and a growing number of Financial Technology companies in the markets are supporting faster payments and settlements. Technological advancements and the Adoption of mobile as the primary channel have also made it easier and cheaper to conduct electronic transactions.”

Adding that the developments have been validated by the astronomical increases in transaction volumes in virtually all electronic payment platforms, she said the categories of the awards reflect CBN’s aspirations for the payment system, recognising leaders in bank and non-bank categories in the critical areas of driving cashless, platform efficiency, innovation and customer experience.

“Despite the progress recorded we are not yet at the goal. Electronic transactions are not yet at desired levels, increasing digitization heightens cyber security threats while policy makers are faced with the twin but often conflicting objectives of fostering technological innovation whilst managing the risks to financial stability,” Mrs. Ahmad said.

She said the CBN was undertaking a review of the PSV 2020 (created to provide a sound regulatory framework that supports innovation, protects consumers and promotes financial stability) the proposed refreshed strategy is tagged PSV 2030.

Also, the Shared Agent Network Expansion Facility was established in March 2018 by the body of deposit money banks, mobile money operators and super agents, to expand the number of agent outlets by 500k to support the National Financial Inclusion strategy objectives. With The Shared Agent Network Expansion Facility (SANEF), the number of agents per 10,000 individuals will increase from four agents to 65 agents by 2020.