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E-Financial

POS Terminals to Be Deployed for GES Scheme

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Point of sale (PoS) terminals are to be deployed as additional redemption channel by government under the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme to enable farmers access fertilizers and other farming subsidies.

According to the technology provider of the scheme, Cellulant Nigeria, by the development, whenever farmers get subsidized farm inputs the details of the transaction can now be stored in the POS terminals and later transferred to the central database of the scheme managed by Cellulant Nigeria.

In addition; these POS gives the agro-dealers the capacity to serve as mobile-money agents and enables farmers to enjoy various financial services.

GES is a special scheme introduced by the Federal Government under President Goodluck Jonathan’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) seeks to increase farmers’ access to subsidized farm inputs such as fertilisers and improved seeds through the private sector.

The scheme is designed for small scale farmers and currently over 10million farmers have been captured in the GES database

According to Bolaji Akinboro, chief of Party, Nigeria Team GES (Cellulant), terminals will provide very useful addition to the GES scheme as it will help to quickly capture data that could have either been lost or that would have taken a lot of time to reconcile.

He said that both banks and dealers would be involved in the use of the terminals. At the time of writing this article, 3 Nigerian banks and 2 POS terminal providers are supporting the deployment.

According to Cellulant; GES e-wallet is now evolving into the backbone of a payment system for agriculture; Nigeria farmers will be able to access various financial services in addition to the farm inputs they currently get through the scheme.

He said, “These POS terminals work in an off-line mode and evacuate data back to the GES platform on periodic schedules.  The POS are issued to agro-dealers at no cost by commercial banks and the agro-dealers via cellulant are responsible for maintenance and safekeeping of the POS.

“These POS terminals allow us to solve the problem of capturing all categories of redemptions (farmer with phone/farmer without phone/no network) as they are happening from the side of the agro-dealer. The agro-dealer himself becomes an additional source of data into the platform via the POS. This allows us to achieve faster reconciliation and problem resolution as we can trace/ compare transactions from farmer phone, register, RC& SL form and now POS data.”

Akinboro added that the terminals will also allow operators of the GES to achieve total information symmetry/equality among the key participants (Banks, Suppliers, FGN, Agro-dealer) in the GES required for accurate reconciliation.

In his words; the Nigerian Government is now implementing what we can refer to as “fast-tracking financial inclusion”


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E-Financial

NDIC Calls for Inputs to IADI Core Principles for Effective Deposit Insurance

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Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has called for comments from financial services industry stakeholders in the country, policy makers and the general public towards the ongoing revision of the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI) Core Principles for Effective Deposit Insurance System.

NDIC Calls for Inputs to IADI Core Principles for Effective Deposit Insurance

The proposed revision launched by IADI in May 2025, is a significant step towards enhancing the resilience and relevance of deposit insurance frameworks in the face of an evolving global financial landscape.

Specifically, the revision is aimed at comprehensively addressing structural changes, including digital innovation, the growing role of deposit insurers in resolution, and lessons learned from the banking turmoil in March 2023, which is the most significant systemic stress event since the 2007-09 global financial crisis.

The IADI Core Principles are used by jurisdictions, including Nigeria, as a benchmark for assessing the quality of their deposit insurance systems and for identifying gaps in their deposit insurance practices and measures to address them.

The Core Principles are also used by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in the context of the Financial Sector Assessment Programme (FSAP), to assess the effectiveness of jurisdictions’ deposit insurance systems and practices.

The first set of the Core Principles was issued jointly by the IADI and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) in June 2009 while the document is subjected to periodic revision order to keep it up-to-date with evolving trends on the global financial system landscape.

As a founding and committed member of IADI, NDIC recognises the importance of the ongoing revision and hereby invites stakeholders and the general public to actively participate in the process by reviewing the document on the lin


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E-Financial

Onafriq Marks 15 Years of Revolutionizing African Payments

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Onafriq, Africa’s largest digital payments network, has celebrated a major milestone, connecting nearly 1 billion mobile money wallets and 500 million bank accounts across the continent.

According to a statement released by the company, Onafriq has evolved from a mobile money switch to a comprehensive omnichannel payments network, facilitating seamless transactions and financial inclusion.

The company’s network now connects 961 million registered mobile wallets and 464 million registered bank accounts, with over 2,000 cross-border payment corridors supported.

Speaking on the achievement, Dare Okoudjou, Founder and CEO of Onafriq, said, “We remain fully committed to connecting every individual and business in Africa with each other and the world.”

Okoudjou noted that the company has grown in lockstep with the continent’s digital evolution, from mobile money to bank accounts, remittances, and real-time trade.

As Onafriq embarks on its next chapter, the company aims to develop infrastructure with local relevance while maintaining the scale of its pan-African infrastructure.

A prime example is Nigeria, where Onafriq is developing a unique payments stack that combines the strength of its cross-border network with the regulatory and foreign exchange realities of one of Africa’s most dynamic economies.

The company is also exploring blockchain infrastructure and stablecoin integrations to facilitate near-instant, programmable payments, aligning with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“We are increasingly focused on creating infrastructure with local depth,” Okoudjou said.

With extensive experience, wide reach, and a proven execution track record, Onafriq remains dedicated to building a payment infrastructure that unlocks prosperity across borders and within local communities.


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E-Financial

UBA Compiles with NCC, to Deduct USSD from Customers’ Accounts

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United Bank for Africa (UBA) has informed its customers that, in compliance with a new directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), charges for USSD banking services will no longer be deducted from bank accounts, effective June 3, 2025.

UBA Compiles with NCC, to Deduct USSD from Customers’ Accounts

 

In a notice sent to customers, the bank explained that the charges would now be deducted directly from users’ mobile airtime balances, in line with the NCC’s newly introduced End-User Billing (EUB) framework.

It said the new model aimed to ensure transparency in USSD transactions and shift billing responsibility to mobile network operators.

According to UBA, each USSD session would now cost ₦6.98 per 120 seconds, saying that customers initiating transactions would receive a prompt to provide consent at the start of each session, and airtime would only be debited if the bank is available to process the request.

The bank advised customers who are not comfortable with the new billing arrangement to opt for other digital banking alternatives such as the UBA mobile app and internet banking platform, which remain fully operational and user-friendly.

UBA reaffirmed its commitment to providing secure and accessible digital services, and encouraged customers to choose the channel that best suits their banking needs.

The policy marks a significant shift in Nigeria’s digital banking ecosystem and is expected to address longstanding disputes over USSD service charges between telecom operators and financial institutions.

 

 

 

 


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