E-Financial
CWG, Wincor Nixdorf Partner UBA on ATM Deployment
United bank for Africa Plc (UBA), one of Africa’s leading financial institutions, and Computer Warehouse Group Plc (CWG), the leading Pan African Systems Integration Company, have signed an agreement for the deployment of over 450 units of the award winning CINEO series of Wincor Nixdorf brand of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Nigeria.
The CINEO series, though mono-functional automated teller machines for indoor and outdoor installations, can be upgraded to cash recycling systems. These ATMs are improved versions of the earlier ProCash series.
They shall be deployed and supported by CWG’s certified engineers who have undergone rigorous training at the Wincor Nixdorf operations centre in Paderborn, Germany.
In the recent past, Mr Eckard Heidloff, global chief executive officer of Wincor Nixdorf; made his premier visit to Africa where he toured CWG’s operational base in Lagos and also visited key customers of Wincor Nixdorf, including United Bank for Africa in the company of Mr Austin Okere, founder and chief executive officer of the Computer Warehouse Group.
His visit created the opportunity for a joint strategy that will improve cash services in Nigeria while supporting the CBN’s cashless economy initiative.
UBA took advantage of the advanced features and solid engineering of the Wincor CINEO ATMs to increase their competitive edge in the rapidly growing ATM market.
UBA with a vision to be the undisputed leading and dominant financial services institution in Africa, and with an excellent understanding of the importance and the role of Information Technology (IT) in actualizing their vision, has selected CWG as a key Technology Partner, providing her with key Applications such as the Finacle Core Banking Application, Oracle Relational Database Management System, as well as virtualizing her Server and Storage environment, and the deployment of her ATM strategy among others.
It will be recalled that one of the highlights of the 4th Nigerian-German Economic forum in 2011 which was graced by both President Goodluck Jonathan and Chancellor Angela Merkel at Abuja, CWG and Wincor Nixdorf signed a cooperative agreement to deploy 600 Wincor Nixdorf ATMs to major banks and financial institutions in Nigeria. Major beneficiaries were UBA, FBN and GTB amongst others.
The British Retail Banking Research Group, relying on statistics from the Central bank of Nigeria, estimates that there are about 11,000 ATMs in Nigeria today, with about 50% being of the Wincor Nixdorf brand. CWG, having deployed and supporting about a third of the aggregate ATMs, or 3500 Wincor Nixdorf ATMs has established her credentials as the de facto leading ATM Company in Nigeria.
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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