E-Financial
PenCom Develops ECRS IT Infrastructure for Micro Pension
National Pension Commission (PenCom) has developed the Enhanced Contributor Registration System (ECRS) to facilitate the enrolment of participants in the Micro Pension Scheme when the scheme is rolled out, according to Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, acting director-general of the commission.
Dahir-Umar who spoke in Calabar said the ECRS was developed to clean-up data in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
She stated that the clean-up will enable the Commission to not only facilitate the enrollment of participants in the Micro Pension Scheme, but to also facilitate the transfer of Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders from one Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) to another.
She stressed that the Micro Pension Scheme will take off fully once the ECRS is fully tested and deployed.
She disclosed that the Commission released the guidelines on micro pension, the first step in giving effect to Section 2(3) of the Pension Reform Act (PRA), 2014, which provides that employees of organizations with less than three employees as well as the self-employed persons shall be entitled to participate in the CPS in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Commission.
She said: “PenCom, in accordance with the PRA 2014, introduced the Micro Pension Plan. The plan is set to include the self-employed and persons working in organisations with less than three employees. It aims at ensuring that the informal sector participants save towards their old age. It is also expected that the plan would expand the coverage of pension contributors by an estimated 30 million people by the year 2024. This category of workers constitutes a large percentage of the working population in the country.
“To implement this initiative, the Commission segmented informal sector into three broad categories namely; the low-income earners, the high-income earners and the small & medium scale enterprises (SMEs). Each of these categories will be targeted with appropriate pension products and sensitisation programmes that meet their various peculiarities.
The Commission has recently exposed the draft guidelines and framework on Micro Pension Plan to its stakeholders and the general public for comments and observations and is on the verge of finalizing the guidelines and framework. In addition to the exposed draft guidelines and framework, the Commission is working on the IT infrastructure that will support the launch of the Micro Pension Plan.”
She noted that due to the peculiarities of the informal sector, the Plan would be flexible! Safe, convenient and simple.
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc is facing a major financial scandal after hackers reportedly siphoned N9.3 billion from multiple customer accounts.
The breach, which occurred on March 23, 2025, has led to an urgent legal battle as the bank seeks to freeze accounts suspected of receiving the stolen funds.
Court filings reveal that the cybercriminals exploited a critical system glitch, discreetly transferring the money in small amounts across 54 financial institutions to evade detection.
Oluwasegun Falola, Union Bank’s Head of E-Fraud Investigations, confirmed that tracking the transactions has been challenging due to their fragmented nature.
Acting swiftly, the bank filed a lawsuit (FHC/L/CS/629/2025) at the Federal High Court in Lagos, requesting an emergency order to halt further withdrawals. On April 2, 2025, the bank’s legal team, led by A. Adedoyin-Adeniyi, informed the court that the stolen funds were still being actively moved—suggesting an ongoing laundering operation.
In response, Justice Deinde Dipeolu granted a Post No Debit (PND) order, freezing all implicated accounts pending further investigation.
This crisis comes just 15 months after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) dissolved Union Bank’s former board over governance failures. Under the leadership of MD Yetunde Oni, the bank now faces intense scrutiny as customers demand accountability.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a comprehensive review of documentation requirements for transactions processed through the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), aimed at enhancing intra-African trade, promoting financial inclusion, and improving operational efficiency for cross-border payments within Africa.
In a press release issued on Monday, the CBN outlined key updates to the documentation framework in a circular addressed to Authorised Dealer Banks (ADBs) and the general public.
The revised guidelines are part of the CBN’s ongoing efforts to streamline processes and support seamless financial transactions across the continent.
Under the new framework, individuals conducting low-value transactions up to USD 2,000 equivalent in naira and corporates transacting up to USD 5,000 equivalent in naira can now rely on basic Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) documents already provided to their ADBs.
This measure simplifies compliance requirements for smaller transactions and reduces administrative burdens.
For transactions exceeding the specified thresholds, parties must comply with the full documentation requirements as outlined in the CBN Foreign Exchange Manual and related circulars to ensure regulatory compliance.
Applicants are also responsible for ensuring that all necessary regulatory documents are available to facilitate the clearance of goods as mandated by relevant government agencies.
The new policy permits ADBs to source foreign exchange for PAPSS settlements directly from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, eliminating the previous requirement to obtain forex directly from the CBN.
Additionally, all export proceeds repatriated via PAPSS must be certified by the relevant processing banks to promote transparency and regulatory adherence.
The CBN urged all ADBs to adopt PAPSS and commence originating transactions in accordance with the updated policy.
Exporters, importers, and individuals were encouraged to familiarize themselves with the new requirements and leverage PAPSS for efficient cross-border transactions across Africa.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service has directed banks across the country to immediately identify and close any tax and levy collection accounts not authorised under its TaxPro Max platform.
The directive, aimed at promoting transparency and ensuring uniformity in tax collection, was disclosed in a public notice titled “Directive to close unauthorised FIRS tax collection accounts,” issued by the FIRS Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, and circulated to journalists on Monday by his Special Adviser on Media, Dare Adekanmbi.
According to the notice, all tax and levy collections must now be processed exclusively through assessments generated on the TaxPro Max system.
The FIRS warned that all banks participating in its collection, remittance, and reconciliation scheme must comply without delay, discontinue the use of unauthorised accounts, and ensure only transactions initiated from the TaxPro Max platform are processed.
“We count on your cooperation to ensure a smooth transition to this centralised system, thereby contributing to a more transparent and efficient tax collection process,” the agency stated.
Developed locally, the TaxPro Max platform facilitates key tax activities such as taxpayer registration, filing of returns, payment processing, and the issuance of tax clearance certificates.
It was introduced to streamline tax administration and support the FIRS’s broader digitalisation agenda.
The agency also urged taxpayers and stakeholders seeking clarification to contact its Revenue Accounting and Refund Department.
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