Connect with us

Business

CBN Lists Challenges To Electronic Payment System

Published

11 years ago

on

Abuja-Kaduna Light Rail during inspection by the Chairman, Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (Sure-p), Retired Gen. Martin Lurther-Agwai, in Abuja recently. Photo: NAN

Abuja-Kaduna Light Rail during inspection by the Chairman, Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (Sure-p), Retired Gen. Martin Lurther-Agwai, in Abuja recently. Photo: NAN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has named weak risk management framework and security issues among the major challenges affecting electronic payment system in the country.
The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, made the disclosure as a keynote presenter at the 8th Annual Conference of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria in Abuja yesterday.
The theme of the conference was “Positioning Nigeria’s Payments System for Global Competitiveness’’.
“While CBN efforts have gone into transformation of the payments system in line with global trends, we should not lose sight of the associated risks and challenges.
“These challenges include, but not limited to weak risk management framework, security issues, resistance of target customers to patronise and embrace new products,’’ Emefiele said.
He said another challenge was the “lack of unique identifier for customers across institutions and high operation cost’’.
According to him, other challenges are interoperability and interconnectivity of networks, low level of card usage on Point of Sales, non-transparent pricing, among others.
Emefiele, who was represented by Dr Sarah Alade, CBN deputy governor, Economic Policies, urged the institute to deliberate on the issues and come out with good suggestions to improve the payment system in the country.
“By this, we will be able to strengthen consumers’ confidence in the safety, security and reliability of our payments system bearing in mind that when this trust is undermined, then public confidence in financial services is eroded and the economy loses,’’ he said
Commenting on the payment system in the country, he said that it had witnessed remarkable achievements in the recent past.
Emefiele said that in the whole sales payment sector, a new real time gross settlement (RTGS) system in December 2013 replaced the old that was used for over seven years.
RTGS is an inter-bank payments infrastructure that facilitates the real time settlement of electronic funds transfer on gross and irrevocable basis.
Emefiele noted that the new RTGS was integrated with “strapless security settlement system’’ to manage and settle government and other money market securities processed as electronic records in a central securities depository system.
He added that in the retail payments sector, a series of initiatives had been implemented toward building confidence and positioning of the payment system for global competitiveness.
The governor said the initiative included the migration from magnetic stripe to Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV).
He said that CBN had introduced chips on the cards and mandated all banks to migrate.
“I want to place it on record that this singular effort of the bank led to a drastic reduction in card related frauds by over 98 per cent which were hitherto prevalent in the industry.
“This has also instilled confidence in the payment system as Nigeria issued bank cards are now used in other parts of the world,’’ he said
He said that an efficient payment system would go a long way to strengthen the growth and development of the nation’s economy.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Business

NPA Assures On Staff Welfare 

Published

1 week ago

on

June 27, 2025

By

The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, has said the management will continue to accompany its port infrastructure  and equipment  modernization drive  with the development of the welfare of its personnel.
Dantsoho made the disclosure recently while responding to the commendation by the Maritime Workers Union (MWUN) and the senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASGOC) on the  clearing  of the age-long problem of employee stagnation, when the union paid him a courtesy visit at the Authority’s headquarters in Lagos.
A Statement by NPA’s General Manager Corporate & Strategic Communications, Mr. Ikechukwu Onyemekara, quoted Dantsoho as saying,  “our Port infrastructure and equipment modernization drive will go hand-in-hand with continuous staff welfare improvement”.
The NPA MD disclosed that human capital development constitutes the key strategy for creating and sustaining superior performance under his watch, adding that “talent development constitutes a critical success factor for the actualization of the big hairy audacious goals we have set for ourselves especially in the area of Port competitiveness.
“The only way we can meet and indeed exceed stakeholders’ expectations is to deepen the competencies of our human resources assets and boosting their morale.”
Speaking further, Dantsoho commended the Honourable Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, for approving the strategic proposal of the Dantsoho-led Management team that solved the over a decade-long problem of lack of promotion that had fuelled industrial disharmony.
“I must specially appreciate our amiable Minister for graciously approving the multi-pronged stratagem we deployed that cleared all outstanding cases of employee stagnation by conducting examinations in one fell swoop and instituted timelines to forestall a recurrence of such anomaly”, he sad.
Speaking on behalf of the joint maritime labour unions, the President  of Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations & Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), Comrade Bodunde stated, “In addition to clearance of the backlog of stagnated promotions, we also wish to express our appreciation for the increase in productivity bonuses, provision of end-of-year welfare packages for staff, and the revision of the Financial Guide to the Condition of Service, which now addresses our members’ concerns about inflationary pressures.”
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Continue Reading

Business

ANLCA Chieftain Emerges FELCBA’s VP

Published

1 week ago

on

June 27, 2025

By

National Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Elder Olumide Fakanlu, has been elected Vice President of the Federation of ECOWAS Licensed Customs Brokers Association (FELCBA).
The election took place during the FELCBA Congress, held from Tuesday, June 17th to Thursday, June 19th, 2025, in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Fakanlu’s emergence as Vice President marks a significant achievement for Nigeria within the regional customs brokerage community.
Apart from Fakanlu, Secretary of the Seme Chapter of ANLCA, Austin Nwosu, was also elected, securing the role of Secretary of Relations with Institutions.
The Nigerian delegation played an active role in the congress, with Michael Ebeatu nominated as a member of the electoral officer team, ensuring a fair and transparent election process.
The three-day congress concluded with delegates undertaking a visit to the Sierra Leone Port, offering insights into the host nation’s maritime operations, followed by a recreational trip to the Tokeh Beach.
The newly elected executives are expected to lead FELCBA in its efforts to harmonize customs brokerage practices, promote trade facilitation, and advocate for the interests of licensed customs brokers across the ECOWAS sub-region.
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Continue Reading

Business

NSC, Police Boost Partnership On Port Enforcement 

Published

1 week ago

on

June 27, 2025

By

In a bid to enhance more enforcement in the nation’s Port, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has reaffirmed its commitment to stronger inter-agency collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The Council said the collaboration is aimed at enhancing stronger enforcement, compliance and improve operational efficiency across Nigeria’s ports.
Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of  NSC, Dr. Pius Akutah, made this known during a visit to the  Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
The visit, which he said, focused on strengthening institutional synergy, comes in the wake of growing responsibilities for the NSC under the newly created Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
Akutah emphasized the critical role of security agencies in supporting port operations and ensuring regulatory compliance.
He called for the posting of police officers to assist the Council’s monitoring and enforcement teams at key port locations including Lagos, Warri, Onne, Port Harcourt, and Calabar.
“The posting will complement the activities of our revived task teams and enhance our ability to enforce standards across the maritime logistics chain”, he said.
Earlier, the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Egbetokun, assured the Council of the Force’s readiness to continue supporting the growth of the maritime sector.
The IGP acknowledged that compliance enforcement is essential to the successful implementation of Nigeria’s Blue Economy objectives.
“The NSC and NPF are expected to deepen collaboration in the months ahead, with a shared focus on building a secure, efficient, and competitive port environment”, to the IGP emphasized.
Chinedu Wosu
Continue Reading

Trending