Mobile Money Transactions Rise to N64 Billion

25 Jun 2013

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Obinna Chima and Nume Horsfall

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)  Monday put the total value of transactions by mobile payment operators in the country in the last one year at over N64 billion.

The Deputy Governor (Operations), CBN, Mr. Tunde Lemo, disclosed this in a keynote address delivered at an ongoing conference titled: “Transiting to a Cashless Society: Charting the Way Forward,” that was jointly organised by De Novo Limited and Reach Legal Consulting in Lagos.

He however, pointed out that over 60 per cent of the amount was recorded in the last three months.

Furthermore, Lemo, whose speech was read by the Director, Banking and Payments System Department, CBN, Mr. Dipo Fatokun, revealed that as at June 6, 2013, deposit money banks (DMBs) had deployed a total of 170,000 point of sale (PoS) terminals to merchant locations in the country.
He said: “As we roll out to more states, the banks shall be acquiring more merchants and deploying POS terminals to those locations. There are over 10,000 ATMs that have been deployed in and outside of the bank branches and these ATMs have the capability to enable bills payment, funds Transfer, virtual top-up etc.

“More merchants are being signed up to offer services on their portals and accept web payments. Airlines, hotels, telecommunication companies, government bills etc. are making concrete and concerted efforts in this direction. You will agree with me that the use of the electronic shopping malls is fast gaining traction in Nigeria. This is highly commendable and must be strongly supported.

“The CBN has licensed about 18 mobile payment operators to offer payment services via the mobile phone that over 100 million Nigerian are carrying. This will also help promote financial inclusion and by extension, make the nation a cashless one.”

According to Lemo, the central bank had released guidelines on agent banking in the country, to guide banks and other financial service companies who may wish to offer financial products and services, on how to appoint and manage the agents.

“Banks have also enhanced their internet banking capabilities with a view to offering more robust, efficient and effective services for their customers in order to make instant payments within the context of P2P, P2B and B2B payments space.

“We reckon that inadequate infrastructure, consumer education and even consumer protection can pose serious challenges to the quick adoption of the payment options.  Consequently, the CBN is working with all the stakeholders to ensure that these challenges are surmounted quickly as we encounter them,” he added.

Earlier, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who expressed satisfaction over the level of success recorded by the initiative in Lagos, stressed that the transition to a cashless society means moving to a system that is more efficient and safer.

The governor, who was represented by the Account General of the State, Mr. David Sumoni, said the government had supported the policy by playing both participatory and supportive roles. He urged other state governments to support the central bank’s initiative especially as the policy commences in five other states and the Federal Capital Territory next week.

“The first and important way through which this can be done is by implementing policies and laws that creates an enabling environment in which a cashless environment can thrive. In Lagos state, we have started passing legislation on the cashless system.

“Primarily, we are trying to ensure that we have laws in place to protect both the users and the providers. A great concern for Nigerians is online security.  Our laws have started evolving to cover electronic transactions and offer protection against electronic fraud.

“We are also empowering our security agents to investigate and prosecute internet fraud. We have to be a step ahead of hackers at all times. If the transition is to be successful, the average person on the street of Lagos must believe that it is safe to use a PoS terminal in his shop or enter his debit or credit card details to make online transactions.