Transaction processing for banks and other financial services is set
to surpass US$15 billion (2.4 trillion) this year as the Central Bank
of Nigeria (CBN) intensifies the
implementation of the cash-less policy.
The policy is aimed at reducing the quantity of physical cash in circulation in Nigeria.
Mr Mitchell Elegbe, Managing Director/CEO, Interswitch, the
transaction and switching firm that handles front-end-processors of all
banks in Nigeria , most Point of Sale (PoS) and automated teller
machines (ATMs) including debit and credit cards interbank
transactions, said the full implementation of the cash-less policy at
the end of March would grow the electronic payment landscape.
Despite about 18 to 20 million cards of various makes from debit,
credit, e-purse and loyalty schemes in circulation which allows
consumers and enterprises to pay and collect bills and taxes via many
channels such as ATMs, banks, PoS, online, etc, Nigeria, he said, still
lagged behind many nations in bank accounts, ATM and PoS deployments.
Presently, commercial banks are working to raise the level of inter
bank processing and transactions volumes to over 1100 million before
the end of 2012 as this would make more Nigerians use electronic modes
of payment for their transactions including payment of utility bills,
tax, and banking payments.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said cash transactions represented
over 99 per cent of customers activities in banks. Statistics from
World Bank, MobileActive, Nielsen Online, International
Telecommunications Union (ITU), McKinsey, Euromonitor International,
Roland Berger and Finscope shows that Nigeria remains relatively
unbanked compared to Germany , United Kingdom , USA , Saudi Arabia,
South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.
While Nigeria has 79 per cent of its population unbanked, Germany,
United Kingdom, USA, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Namibia and
Botswana have over 59 per cents of their population unbanked compared
to Nigeria .
However, bank accounts in Nigeria have grown from seven million in
2004 to 25.4 million in 2010 at 24 per cent compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) contributed by the apex bank policy to switch from magstripe to
EuroPayMastercard (EMV) chip and pin card conversion.
