Zenith Bank, one of the biggest and most profitable banks in Nigeria has pioneered the deployment of Near Sound Data Transfer (NSDT) technology on its Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), scattered across the country to provide a very high level of security and protect users’ privacy, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek has gathered.
It is the first concrete attempt by a bank in Nigeria to open banking services to all bank customers and non customers via mobile phones.
The bank is riding on Tagattitude’s revolutionary NSDT technology which transforms the mobile phone into a secure payment or authentication tool, taking services to the unbanked and under banked.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that with Tagattitude’s NSDT technology, which had been running as a demo in the last few weeks in-house at Zenith Bank, Nigerians are now positioned to receive remittances real-time from any country or location worldwide without the need for the sender to visit any agent location.
Recipients of monies can conveniently walk to any of the bank’s ATM network locations and cash out their remittances any day, anytime.
A TagPay user who receives money on his cell phone; and wants to cash it at an ATM, all he needs to do is type his phone number and PIN code on the ATM. His phone rings, he takes the call and is prompted to bring his phone up to the screen of the machine. Voila! Cash is dispensed.
Furthermore, recipients of monies may choose to leave some amount behind in the virtual account, which significantly reduces the security challenge of carrying cash around; as the remitted cash is available via the ATM networks and can be cashed when needed.
An ecstatic Femi Akinware, CEO of Tagattitude of Nigeria, said: “Our technology is pushing the frontiers of mobile financial inclusion in Nigeria and Africa,” adding that with NSDT, all the risks and inconveniences of cash are eliminated.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that by using audio channels common to all phones, NSDT technology provides a secure and user-friendly transaction platform through which funds can be stored, extracted, transacted and managed. This technology provides a smartcard-grade transaction security and usability on existing infrastructure and hardware, requiring zero hardware deployment and minimal software integration.
