E-Financial
CeBIH Seeks Innovation-enabling Regulations in E-payment
The Committee of e-Banking Industry Heads (CeBIH) has called for a regulatory environment that promotes innovation in the e-payment industry.
Tunde Kuponiyi, group’s Chairman, who made the call at their recently concluded yearly retreat in Abuja, with the theme: “Payment System Vision 2020 – Creating an enabling environment through policy regulations,” said, for the industry to prosper and for innovation to thrive, a sound complementary regulatory framework is very much required.
“Such framework should provide a level playing field for all players to enable the customer to exercise his choices as regards choosing a particular service provider.
“Other important components for such a regulatory framework would also encompass customer protection issues, fraud prevention issues, security related issues and fair pricing,” he said.
Also speaking, a global retail payment expert, John Chaplin, advocated smart regulation for the payment system in Nigeria.
He said that though banks desire less regulation and right to better and smarter regulation, it is critical for sustainable competition, which is necessary for the growth of the payment industry.
“Frequent rule changes are signs of bad regulations and deter investment. The industry must actively work with regulators to achieve a good outcome. Clear, consistent, even handed and risk-based regulation is the goal.
“Leaving the market entirely to market forces will lead to higher cost, which would drive out everybody. Hence the aim of regulation should be to drive down cost,” he said.
Earlier, Kuponiyi explained that the retreat was designed to discourse the changes and challenges of the Payment Vison 2020 20 in Nigeria and how this should lead to a paradigm shift in the way banks are doing business, retaining and increasing their customer base.
“The basic underlying current that runs through this changing landscape is the ever increasing reliance on technology to cater to the needs of customers and process vast number of transactions including payment transactions.
“The question is, are there positive strategic interventions toward the realisation of the vision 2020 20 or are they fragmented policies that will produce little or no impact in the overall scheme of things?
“I believe that some of the policies have pointed the industry to the direction of the goldmine. However, there needs to be the will to drive the policies by the regulator to see that the desired results manifest.
“For instance, PSV 2020 20 and some of the adjoining policies and guidelines released by CBN reveal some untapped opportunities for banks.
“In one of such policies, CBN made it clear that financial inclusion should be seen not only as a social responsibility, but also as a potential business model because of the huge untapped market that it seeks to bring into the fold of banking services.
“Thus, this ‘bottom of the pyramid’ which comprises a huge section of the Nigerian population presents a large untapped market for Nigerian banks,” Kuponiyi added.
The naira appreciated to N1,600 per dollar in the parallel market at the close of trading hours on Monday, strengthening from N1,610 per dollar recorded over the weekend.
Similarly, the naira saw a slight gain in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), trading at N1,605 per dollar compared to N1,606 last Friday, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This represents a marginal N1 appreciation.
As a result, the gap between the parallel market and official exchange rate widened slightly to N5 per dollar, up from N4 over the weekend.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) spent N315.18bn on currency issue expenses in 2024, marking a sharp increase of 306 per cent compared to N77.67bn recorded in 2023, the apex bank’s audited financial statement for the year has shown.
Currency issue expenses cover the printing, processing, distribution, and disposal of banknotes.
The latest figures reveal that the CBN’s cost of managing physical cash spiralled dramatically during the year under review, as Nigeria grappled with lingering cash shortages and disruptions in the money supply chain.
The surge in expenditure came as the country continued to deal with the effects of the naira redesign policy introduced in late 2022.
Despite efforts to stabilise cash circulation throughout 2023, Nigerians still faced queues at ATMs and difficulties in accessing cash in early and late 2024.
Faced with mounting public outcry, the CBN deployed several emergency measures to address the crisis.
Deposit Money Banks were directed to ensure consistent ATM loading and rural cash distribution, while the Bank also launched public hotlines for citizens to report cash scarcity incidents.
Also, the CBN ramped up enforcement efforts, including deploying monitoring teams, issuing sanctions against non-compliant banks, and mandating improved cash distribution.
PalmPay, a full-service digital bank, has reaffirmed its dedication to advancing the future of payments in Nigeria by promoting the widespread adoption of contactless-enabled payment terminals.
This was made known during the recently concluded BusinessDay Future of Payment Conference, themed “Fintech Evolution: Gateway to Payments.” In his welcome address, BusinessDay Publisher, Frank Aigbogun, emphasized that the next phase of fintech innovation must be driven not only by speed, safety, and simplicity but also by trust, inclusion, and accessibility to ensure broad-based impact across all segments of society.
Talking about PalmPay’s impact in the panel session titled “The Next Wave of Digital Payments: Trends and Innovation,” Ifeanyi Uzoka, Senior Business Development Manager at PalmPay, discussed the evolving landscape of digital payments in Nigeria.
He noted that while regulatory frameworks have supported the introduction of contactless payments, the high level of cash dependency remains a key barrier to widespread adoption.
“At PalmPay, financial inclusion is central to everything we do,” Uzoka stated. “To support this mission, we’ve launched contactless-enabled debit and premium cards, ensuring our users have access to convenient and secure payment experiences. We also understand that trust is critical, which is why all contactless transactions on PalmPay’s platform include an additional layer of authentication for enhanced security.”
PalmPay continues to lead innovation in Nigeria’s digital finance ecosystem by delivering secure, user-friendly, and future-ready solutions. The company’s recently launched debit and premium cards in partnership with Verve are now serving its growing base of over 35 million users nationwide.
This move into contactless payments underscores PalmPay’s alignment with global payment trends and its ongoing commitment to building a more inclusive and digitally empowered economy.
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