Did You Get The Memo? Cashless Lagos Takes Effect on April 2. But…

by Loy Okezie / Friday, March 30th, 2012

You’ve probably heard that Lagos is going cashless. Now by that, I mean, that various sectors of the economy would ONLY accept electronic payments via PoS terminals, etc from you starting from April 2, 2012.

Oh no, this is not a pre-April Fool’s Day joke!

It’s an initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that aims to reduce — not entirely eliminate — the amount of physical cash that circulates in the economy, and encourage more electronic-based transactions, such as payments for goods, services, transfers, etc.

Already, banks and other organisations such as Cable TV companies, ISPs, etc have been encouraging their customers to migrate to available electronic channels in order to make payments and other transactions.

Thus, instead of moving cash here and there, the CBN wants you to transfer money from bank to bank using internet banking, pay at shops or online with your debit card, withdraw from an ATM instead of going to the bank, send and receive money, pay bills with mobile money.

That’s probably not news any longer. But what’s news is that the CBN has made significant amendments to the new cashless policy in relation to cash withdrawal limits and processing fees at various commercial banks in Nigeria.

Nigeria: PoS Terminals, ATMs Will Be Bio-Metric Driven by 2013 - CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Says the Point of-Sale (PoS) terminals and the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) will be bio-metric driven by 2013.

Mr Gaius Emokpae, the CBN Acting Director (Banking and Payment System Department), disclosed this at a seminar organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos on Wednesday.

AERO Adopts New e-Payment Option for Customers

Aero, has introduced an entirely new, fast and convenient mobile money payment on the platform of U-MO, first of its kind in the Nigerian aviation industry.

By this innovative gesture, Aero ticket can now be paid for from an electronic wallet on the mobile phone, thereby redefining air travel in a way that was originally thought to be unachievable.

The introduction of the mobile money arrangement is in addition to other booking and payment options provided by Aero for the customers’ convenience.

Mobile money is a virtual account that can be accessed through the mobile phone to make payments and transfers.

The new service is the first of its kind in the industry in the West African region. It is further proof of Aero’s desire to empower more people to fly more often by offering great value fares.

The airline believes air travel should be affordable and accessible to all and they are doing just that by introducing this payment platform.

The platform operates in such that users make and receive payments as well as conduct other financial transactions with their mobile phone.

U-Mo also enables users create an e-wallet on your mobile phone for handling their transactions. With the value on U-Mo account, customers can pay for goods and services, Aero flight ticket, top-up your phone air time, transfer and send money to friends, family, and colleagues.

The application which has been integrated to the Aero ticket-sale booking engine offers customers the opportunity to make payment for flight tickets from any part of the world using the mobile phone.

According to Capt. Akin George, the managing director, Aero Airlines, “This new service is going to revolutionize how people purchase their airline tickets, and also what they expect from their airline.

“For our customers who don’t have access to computers to purchase tickets, they can now do so from their phones through Aero’s U-MO electronic wallet option. With this new service, they can pay and fly! It is all about our values as the continent’s leading low cost carrier to empower our customers.”

“We are pleased to introduce this service to our esteemed customers. This is to further assure them that we are always one step ahead in ensuring convenience, safety and security when flying with us. This is another step in the airline’s strategy to make buying Aero’s ticket a convenient experience for Aero customers across the country, allowing them to pay for their tickets without having to physically visit the airline’s sales outlets. We keep improving our technology and allow our customers to buy tickets from wherever they may be- in their offices or within the comfort of their homes,” he added.

The new payment option will not only bring increased operational efficiency and cost effectiveness for the airline, but also spur greater convenience for the traveling public.
“It should be recalled that Aero payment has been made easier through other payment options like Aero web-mobile, ticket payment online, excess baggage payment online etc. We are constantly extending the breadth and depth of our services to match the challenges of the industry, we remain committed to our goals which are based on high safety standards, reliability and on-time schedule,” the MD maintained.

The airline has been the market leader in on-time departures and arrivals and other innovative services in the domestic and regional markets. With the introduction of this payment plan, Aero has taken another giant stride towards consolidating its position as the leading regional carrier in Nigeria.

Western Union, MTN Announce Launch of Mobile Money Transfer Service in Uganda; Provides 9,000 Branded Mobile Phones

Western Union- and MTN-branded Mobile “Yellow Phones” Promote Financial Inclusion for Ugandans

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. & KAMPALA, Uganda, Mar 28, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Western Union Company WU -0.60% and MTN Group (jse:MTN) today announced the launch of a mobile money transfer service in Uganda, allowing MTN customers to send and receive money across borders using just their mobile phones for the first time.

The service, announced today at a press conference in Kampala, marks the debut of an offering from Western Union that allows the more than 2 million customers of MTN’s mobile money transfer service, Mobile Money, in Uganda to add funds to their accounts that were sent through Western Union’s system. Senders send the funds as they normally would -- either in-person at 450,000 Western Union Agent locations in 200 countries and territories, from www.westernunion.com in 22 countries or directly from a bank account in select countries. The receiver of the funds simply chooses to “pull” the transaction into a MTN Mobile Money account.

Cashless policy: CBN exempts embassies, diplomatic mission, others

Lagos – (NAN) The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday  exempted embassies, diplomatic missions, multilateral and aid donor agencies from penalties and charges on daily cash withdrawal and deposit limits.

The CBN disclosed this in a circular posted on its website on Tuesday to all banks, Cash-in-Transit (CIT) companies, payment system services providers and switches.

Others include the issuers and processors, card acquirers and the general public.

The circular was titled “Industry Policy on Retail Cash Collection and Lodgment (IITP/C/001) as it Affects Specialised International Institutions”.

BusinessWorld Organises Cash-Less Lagos Fair

• By Chris Uba
 
• Published Yesterday
 
• News
 
• Unrated

Following the desire of many Nigerians to be enlightened on the new cashless policy, BusinessWorld newspaper, with the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), would be organizing a 3-Day Cash-Less Lagos Fair at LTV Event Centre, Agidingbi, Lagos, May 9-11, 2012.
The fair with the theme: ‘Bringing Alternative Payment Options to the Touch and Feel of Consumers’, will afford banks, card companies, telecom companies, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems and providers of alternative payment options opportunity to interact with consumers.
Clearly, the challenge for the cash-less policy is not paucity of alternative payment options any more, but getting the public to be acquainted with these options and embrace them too. This challenge will be resolved if the barrier between the banks and other alternative payment providers and the general public is broken at the take-off stage of the policy. 

Cashless Lagos FAQs

http://www.sludba.com Will the charges be applied per transaction, daily or monthly? Charges will be applied daily, since it requires the total daily amounts above the limit Will it devalue the Naira in anyway? No. we are spending more money printing and destroying notes. It might even strengthen the naira. Will customer or cardholder be charged 1.25% for using POS? The 1.25% transaction fee will be paid by the merchant.   Will a signatory to a corporate account be allowed to withdraw on the corporate account over N150,000 since he is one person? If a representative and signatory to a corporate account present a cheque on behalf of his company, it is considered a corporate withdrawal and he can cash up to N3, 000,000 cumulatively on that account. Why should a merchant pay 1.25% of transaction fee subject to a maximum of N2000? The fee is distributed to different parties for playing different roles in ensuring the POS system works well.  The fee enables the parties to recover the cost of the POS, the cost for support, maintenance, connectivity of the POS system, amongst others  If you do not use POS, you will still pay a penal fee above 1.25% for cash transactions in excess of the cash policy limit Merchants should also recognise that there are other ways in which the POS terminal can benefit them – they can sell other services and earn a commission. For example, mobile credit can be sold through the terminals; or collect bill payments (eg PHCN bills). Why is CBN introducing the cash policy and what are the benefits? To enable the achievement of the nation’s vision 2020 objective To reduce huge cost associated with cash handling (printing, storing, processing, distributing, etc) To reduce risk of robbery To increase convenience/access to payment (more payment options) To enable more transparency in payment systems, and allow for more effective monetary policy Reduce cash-related crimes for safety of bank customers and the general public. Who trains a merchant to know how to use a POS? Training will be provided by the acquirer’s payment terminal service provider (PTSP). Part of the deployment process is to ensure a practical training of how to use the POS for the merchant and their staff When will the charges begin? The charges on cash deposit/withdrawal above the set limit will begin FROM March 30, 2012.

Cashless Lagos FAQs http://www.sludba.com

Will the charges be applied per transaction, daily or monthly? Charges will be applied daily, since it requires the total daily amounts above the limit Will it devalue the Naira in anyway? No. we are spending more money printing and destroying notes. It might even strengthen the naira. Will customer or cardholder be charged 1.25% for using POS? The 1.25% transaction fee will be paid by the merchant.   Will a signatory to a corporate account be allowed to withdraw on the corporate account over N150,000 since he is one person? If a representative and signatory to a corporate account present a cheque on behalf of his company, it is considered a corporate withdrawal and he can cash up to N3, 000,000 cumulatively on that account. Why should a merchant pay 1.25% of transaction fee subject to a maximum of N2000? The fee is distributed to different parties for playing different roles in ensuring the POS system works well.  The fee enables the parties to recover the cost of the POS, the cost for support, maintenance, connectivity of the POS system, amongst others  If you do not use POS, you will still pay a penal fee above 1.25% for cash transactions in excess of the cash policy limit Merchants should also recognise that there are other ways in which the POS terminal can benefit them – they can sell other services and earn a commission. For example, mobile credit can be sold through the terminals; or collect bill payments (eg PHCN bills). Why is CBN introducing the cash policy and what are the benefits? To enable the achievement of the nation’s vision 2020 objective To reduce huge cost associated with cash handling (printing, storing, processing, distributing, etc) To reduce risk of robbery To increase convenience/access to payment (more payment options) To enable more transparency in payment systems, and allow for more effective monetary policy Reduce cash-related crimes for safety of bank customers and the general public. Who trains a merchant to know how to use a POS? Training will be provided by the acquirer’s payment terminal service provider (PTSP). Part of the deployment process is to ensure a practical training of how to use the POS for the merchant and their staff When will the charges begin? The charges on cash deposit/withdrawal above the set limit will begin FROM March 30, 2012.

Cashless Policy: Report ineffective PoS to NIBSS – Ajao

The Acting Managing Director, Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), Niyi Ajao has called on members of the banking public to report ineffective point of sale (PoS) terminals to the contact centre of the orginasation.

NIBSS is owned by all Licensed Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and is a key player in interbank clearing and settlements in the country.

Stakeholders embrace CBN cashless policy extension

JOHNSON OKANLAWON AND KUNLE AZEEZ 20/03/2012 00:00:00

Okonjo-Iweala

* Apex bank revokes licences of 47 finance firms
Stakeholders in the epayment subsector have endorsed the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to extend the commencement date of the cashless policy implementation till the end of the year. The decision suggests that inadequate deployment of point-of-sales terminals and automated teller machines have necessitated such an extension.