Unified Payments, an electronic payment service provider is to launch a solution that will address the challenges of poor telecommunications infrastructure at Point of Sale (PoS) terminals, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek has learnt.
PoS terminals are provided with connectivity through GSM subscriber identity module (SIM).
The terminal uses the GPRS service of the network to communicate with the network infrastructure of the terminal deployer in this case CBN licensed Payments Terminal Service Providers (PTSP) and National Central Switch as Payments Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) for the industry.
Stakeholders in the electronic payment industry have identified poor telecommunications service as the major challenge affecting the adoption of PoS terminals as means of payment.
Agada Apochi, managing director, Unified Payments, told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek that as a pioneer electronic payment service provider in the country, it was their desire that Nigerians have unhindered payment experience at PoS which informed the company’s plan to launch a solution that will enable customers at merchant locations to make payment without relying on telecommunications infrastructure.
“Payment does not exist in a vacuum, payment is dependent on other infrastructure, for instance, for you to do a successful transaction over e-payment channels be it ATM, PoS and internet you will require a reliable communications infrastructure. Today, that is a major challenge in Nigeria. The payment industry cannot build its own telecommunications infrastructure, it will have to rely on the available telecom infrastructure,” he said.
He noted that: “as a pioneer in the industry, we believe that poor telecommunications infrastructure should not be a reason for a cardholder not to use the e-payment channels. We should build confidence in the users and that is why we are introducing this pioneering solution, were those who subscriber to the solution will be able to make payment whether or not there is telecommunications service. In few months from now, it will be possible for a cardholder to go to a PoS terminal and be able to make payment notwithstanding the communications challenge, either the communications challenge is with your bank not been available or the PoS terminal was not able to connect with other service providers, you will be able to make payment. That is the solution we are coming out with before the end of the year”.
It would be recalled that Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) operators of National Central Switch the industry Payments Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) has recommended a switch from GSM service to CDMA for Payments Terminal Service Providers (PTSP) to address the challenge of poor communications link at PoS. This was a fallout of result of field market research conducted by NIBSS which found telecommunications network connectivity difficulties accounting for 58.5% of challenges merchants face in Point of Sale (PoS) transactions.
Samuel Oluyemi, head, Business Strategy, NIBBS, who disclosed this said that the field market research main goal was to provide to NIBSS, as Payments Terminal Service Aggregator for the industry (PTSA), a clear guidance on the improvement areas for NIBSS services, as well as to support other stakeholder in the Nigerian Payment System, how to achieve increased volumes of transactions on PoS Terminals in Nigeria.
Other challenges include transactions charges 47.2%, customer insistence to pay in cash 31.3%, transactions often rejected account for 29.1%, card reading difficulties 27.4% and customers’ do not have cards 26.5%.