The Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) has said that it processed 32 million retail transactions worth about N20 trillion in 2011.
The Acting Managing Director, NIBSS, Niyi Ajao disclosed this at the weekend in an interview with The Nation.
He said that the transactions took place in NIBSS’s locations in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, Ilorin, Ibadan, Enugu and Benin.
He assured of adequate electronic payment infrastructure needed for the effective implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) moderated cash-less banking initiative. Already, NIBSS at the instance of the Bankers’ Committee has acquired cutting edge technologies for the operation of the Nigeria Central Switch (NCS), which is crucial to the effective takeoff of the cash-less banking initiative.
Ajao said the necessary electronic payment infrastructure is already on ground for the take-off of the exercise, first in Lagos and subsequently in other parts of the country.
He said there was need for banks and other electronic payment service providers to embark on massive publicity campaign to educate the people about the availability and benefits of electronic payment channels.
According to him, NIBSS is ready and committed to the effective implementation of the policy. He also explained that the industry proposal was not to place limit on cash transactions, but ensure customers that make high volume cash transactions bear the associated cost, if they chose to ignore electronic payment channels.
The NIBSS boss said the policy was one aspect of the programme of mordernising the financial system in the country, adding that the only way to move the nation from cash-based economy to cash-less was to invest in modern infrastructure that will make the process seamless.
On January 1, the CBN policy limiting daily cash withdrawal and lodgements in a bank to N150, 000 by individuals and N1 million by a company commenced in Lagos. The policy will subsequently be implemented in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Aba in the first instance while it will be extended to other parts of the country at a date to be determined by the Bankers Committee.
The apex bank took this step to curb dominance of cash in the economy with its implication for cost of cash management to the banking industry, security and money laundering. The NIBSS is owned by all licensed banks including the CBN and discount houses. The body has put in place modern world-class infrastructure for handling inter-bank payments in order to remove potential bottlenecks associated with funds transfer and settlement.
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