CBN, NIBSS push deeper adoption of e-payment system, reward users

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) have further thrown their weight behind cashless policy with the ongoing Electronic Payment Incentive Scheme (EPIS). Speaking during the redemption of prizes in Lagos for the first three winners, representative of the Banking Payment System Department of the CBN, IsahAbubakar, said the apex bank will keep giving the desired support for the EPIS project.

He said cash-less banking will help in revolutionizing Nigeria’s economic development and enhancing efficiency in business.

He praised the process used in selecting the winners. He said the cash-less banking initiative is helping to promote financial inclusion and getting banking to the grassroots.

“The CBN is behind the incentive scheme and will support any project that takes banking to the grassroots,” he said.

The winners include AdeyinkaAdejuwon, who banks with GTBank, and was the first prize winner. He went home with N100,000; the first runner-up was Julie ChiomaUkwosah who banks with Ecobank and won N50,000 while the second runner-up, Jerry Boakye-Mensah banks with Diamond Bank and got a N15,000 cash prize.

Executive Director, Business Development at NIBSS, Mrs. ChristabelOnyejekwe, said it was the need to drive universal usage of electronic payments in the country that prompted the management of the CBN to approve an industry-wide incentive scheme and awareness campaign for electronic payments for stakeholders and users.

“The EPIS idea was first conceived in March 2013 which was followed by Workshop in December 2013 driven by NIBSS amongst other key stakeholders like banks, several card schemes among others. Following the submission of the proposal CBN approved the EPIS in September 2014 with a Go Live/Implementation date for November 2014,” she disclosed.

Continuing, she said the scheme is primarily focused to reward users of electronic payment in Nigeria and to further encourage greater adoption by all. “The incentive scheme will reward and appreciate usage across all channels with emphasis on channels of electronic payments that promote financial inclusion by aiming to identify and reward the cardholders, merchants and sales persons,” she said.

“In other to spice up a reasonable level of awareness and excitement in anticipation of the Loyalty Program for consumers and salespersons, we proposed an EPIS Monthly Raffle Draw Initiative targeted at all card users (POS transactions) within the Nigerian e-payment ecosystem”.

She said all winners are expected to have a valid Biometric Verification Number (BVN) for the authentication of their various bank accounts adding that Ernst & Young was appointed to ascertain the credibility of the process. Also, the initiative has been backed by Consumer Protection Council and National Lottery Regulatory Commission.

“Suffice to say that Electronic payment and card usage in Nigeria is still at its nascent stage as most transactions in the country are still done with cash. Go cashless, use your cards and support the CBN’s Payments System Vision PSV2020,” she advised.

Presidency Abolishes Office of First Lady

The presidency has said that official portfolio was yet to be assigned to Aisha, the wife of president Mohmmadu Buhari, overruling what  hitherto was known as “First Lady’s office”.

Apparently renaming it “Office of the Wife of the President”, the presidency however stated that Mrs. Buhari would, for now, be saddled with women and youth related issues in the country. The Presidency was reacting to allegations in some Nigerian media that the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari has moved into the First Lady’s office in the Aso Villa.

Describing the allegation as totally false and fictitious, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu said that even though there was absolutely nothing
wrong with Mrs. Buhari making use of the office space reserved for the First Lady, she had not done so in her capacity.

Shehu stated that under president Buhari, the office shall be completely different from what obtained in the past, saying that the era of the First Ladies issuing oil wells and licenses was gone.

“President Buhari promised that there would be a clear difference between the role played by his wife during his tenure and that played by many previous First Ladies. “All that ostentation, ubiquitousness and arrogance we have come to expect from the office are over and done with.  Change has come.
“The ideal platform from which she will be useful to Nigeria’s women and children is still being thought out.  Once this has been concluded on, Mrs. Buhari’s role will become clearer to all Nigerians. There will be nothing shady or hidden about it. There will be no access to public funds. It will be purely private and voluntary”, he said.

The presidential spokesman recalled that the time Mrs. Buhari had to make use of the office was at the beginning of the present administration.

He added that the meeting during which she hosted the wives of governors was held in a section of the Villa’s banquet hall, not in the First Lady’s office.

“Her only visit to that office was at the point of the take-over of the Villa by the incoming administration. Out of respect to Mrs. Buhari, the Sierra-Leonian First Lady, Mrs. SiaKoroma recently surrendered her position of head of Africa’s First Ladies to Mrs. Buhari, inviting her to take up the same seat which Mrs. Jonathan hurriedly handed over a few weeks to the handover of her husband’s government to President Buhari. Again, all these things are currently under consideration