More Nigerians are embracing electronic payments – Apochi

By Odunewu Segun

With value of PoS transactions doubling between 2014 and 2016 to about $3.0bn, experts have argued that more Nigerians are embracing electronic payment systems despite its numerous challenges in a society like Nigeria.

Speaking on the topic: Payment systems and Financial Innovation in Nigeria at a breakfast forum organised by the Nigeria South Africa Chamber of Commerce in Lagos, today, April 20, Managing Director, Unified Payment Services Limited, Mr. Agada Apochi, said despite the challenges, e-payments is by far more beneficial on the long run to Nigerians.

Mr. Apochi explained that although Nigeria still has a long way to go in replacing its cash-based economy with a cashless system, the CBN is working with stakeholders to enthrone a culture of cashless economy through various initiatives this year.

“Although we have not reached where we would love to be as a country, the truth is that there has been significant growth driven by the cashless initiative of the CBN. A lot has happened in the last four years of e-payment in the country,” he said.

Apochi added that today, lots of transactions are done online and people no longer carry cash in cartons and bags because they know that they can now transact electronically. “Yes, people still do a lot of withdrawals using their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards, and I do not see this as a true cashless practice. But I see the use of ATM cards declining in the near future.

A participant who works with GTbank revealed that the CBN favours the bank-led rather than telco-led model to forestall regulatory arbitrage and giving undue advantage to the telcos which are the sole providers of the infrastructural platform for all e-transactions by banks.

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Other challenges highlighted by speaker at the event include the non- existence a single national data, limited agent outlets, high cost of transactions, poor legal framework and profit-sharing contention amongst players in the value-chain.

According to National Daily findings, Data from Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) showed a significant uptick in the use of Point of Sale (PoS) terminals for payments last year. Total transaction volume from January to November 2016 increased 65% against all of 2015. More so, the value of PoS transactions have doubled between 2014 and 2016.

Last year, Paga, a mobile money operator, said it had reached 5 million customers, 20% of whom were active. The operator said it handled almost $800 million worth of transactions between July 2015 and July 2016 compare to the three previous years in which it handled $1bn worth of transaction