CBN Plans Review of e-Payment Guidelines

Alhaji Suleiman Barau, deputy Governor, Operations Directorate, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has said the apex bank may soon commence comprehensive review of electronic payment (e-payment) guidelines in the country, the

Barau, who disclosed this in a keynote address titled: “Payments System Vision 2020: Creating Enabling Environment Through Regulatory Framework”, at the 2014 yearly retreat of the Committee of e-Banking Industry Heads (CeBIH), in Abuja, said that the review of guidelines is to build on the success recorded in the promotion of e-payment in the country.

The apex bank chief, who was represented by ‘Dipo Fatoku, dDirector, Banking and Payment System Department, , noted that CBN is poised to stimulate acceptance and usage of the payments system.

“Therefore, the Payments System Vision 2020 outlined a number of initiatives to catalyse the adoption of electronic payments system in certain sectors including, agriculture, transportation, hotels and entertainment, education, health, smart cities, bill payment and government flows.

“The bank has committed to reviewing the following regulations- Mobile Payments Regulatory Framework, the exposure draft of which was communicated to you about two weeks ago; guidelines on stored value/prepaid cards which was issued during the course of the year as Guidelines for Card Issuance and Usage in Nigeria; and Guidelines for Point-of-Sales (PoS) Card Acceptance Services.

“The Revised Nigeria Bankers Clearing House Rules; Guidelines for Cheque Truncation; Direct Debit Rules; Guidelines on Transaction Switching Services; Operational Rules and Regulations of the Nigeria Central Switch; and Guidelines on ATM Operations.

“We issued earlier in the year, the revised Guidelines on the Electronic Payments of Salaries, Pensions, Suppliers and Taxes in Nigeria; Guidelines on International Remittances Services as well as the Review of the Operations of the NIP.”

Tunde Kuponiyi,  chairman of CeBIH and head, Cards/e-Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, said that though the industry has recorded tremendous progress in terms of electronic payment system, the benefits are yet to reach every segment of the society.

“The payment system today is vibrant, robust and technologically superior with multiple payment instruments, multiple access points and delivery channels to choose from. However, the benefit of modern payment system is yet to fully percolate to all segments of the society.

“As a result, a substantial portion of the population is still outside the realm of the formal and modern payment system. Thus the stage is set for all of us especially the banks and the Central Bank of Nigeria along with other stakeholders in the industry to collaborate with each other in a co-operative effort to expand the reach of banking sector and modern payment systems by making all efforts towards the realisation of the PSV 2020 20,” he said.