Transactions over NEFT Hit N11.6Tri in 10 Months

Nigerians that make use of Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system to send money transferred over N11.63 trillion between January and October this year, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek has learnt.

NIBSS Electronic Funds Transfer is a system where a bank customer issues an instruction for a specific amount of money to be transferred to a beneficiary who is a customer of another bank. It allows a maximum of 24 hour for the beneficiary to get value if the paying bank sends the instruction in record time.

It was also gathered that the value was transacted over 24.34million transactions within the 10 months period.

More so, transactions over NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) whose channels include bank branches, internet banking and mobile within the same period is valued at N8.16trillon on 12.53million volume of transactions.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek learnt that while NEFT transactions allow for a maximum of 24 hours for the beneficiary to get value, NIP transactions are done instantly.

It would be recalled that Tunde Lemo, deputy governor, Operations, CBN, disclosed that the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) instant pay recorded over N20billion daily transaction by value, while the Nigeria Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) conducts about N60billion transactions daily.

NIBSS provides the infrastructure for automated processing, settlement of payments and fund transfer instructions between banks, discount houses and card companies in Nigeria.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that NEFT passes through the same clearing circle just like cheque and the delay in NEFT are often caused by banks that are carrying out such instruction as they are reluntant to pay out money to another bank. But, in the case of cheque banks presenting cheques are always eager to present it for clearing as they are the one receiving which makes it faster.

Bindesh Pandey, regional manager, West Africa, Newgen Software Technologies, said that Nigerians trust cheque more than electronic transfer and thereby prefer the use of cheque especially now that the days of clearing has been reduced to one day.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek learnt that there are three sessions of clearing in a day: 1st session: for presentation of all clearing instruments, 2nd session: for presentation of all clearing instruments except fresh Cheques; 3rd session: for returning of dishonored clearing Instruments only.