The launch of the Payments Systems Vision 2020 (PSV2020) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2007, with the overriding objective of making the Nigerian payment systems intentionally recognised and nationally utilised brought in a monumental explosion in electronic payments.
It is now commonplace to carry out financial transactions with your bank through Automated Teller Machines (ATM), mobile phones (or mobile money) or through internet, otherwise known as online banking.
This shows that e-payment is getting traction particularly among the youths. The market is still wide open for exploitation as banks jostle to gain competitive edge.
Research conducted by Global Card Report in 2015 indicated that global consumers used six global electronic payment cards to make 227 purchases valued at $3.11 trillion.
According to the report, the six global cards are Visa, UnionPay, MasterCard, JCB, Diners Club/Discover and American Express.
This is contained in the Global Card report 2015 published by the Nilson Report. The top trade newsletter covering the card and mobile payment industries indicated that while the volume of purchase transactions, which includes all commercial and consumer credit, debit, and prepaid cards via the six cards, rose by 16.1 percent, the value of transactions rose by 18 percent.
In Nigeria, virtually all the banks operating in the country partner with either MasterCard or Visa, two of the world’s leading card companies for electronic payments.
Together with Nigerian banks, the Service Providers have made a huge success of the new technology. Gone are the days customers spent agonising hours in an effort to transact business in a bank.
Thus the sudden rise in the number of e-commerce portals in the country and the corresponding growth in the number of Nigerians patronising them is a clear indication of the popularity and the corresponding stimulating growth in the usage of electronic payment system in Nigeria.
Because of its wide acceptance within a short time of its introduction, many financial institutions in the country have come up with a number of cutting-edge, innovative e-payment solutions in order to ease banking.Such products include credit cards, debit cards, Internet banking, mobile money etc. all aimed at bringing convenience to teeming customers.
The big players in Nigeria’s banking industry with very efficient e-payment platform are Ecobank PLC, Heritage Bank Limited, Fidelity Bank PLC, Zenith Bank PLC and and UBA PLC. These banks together control over 70 per cent of the e-payment transactions in the country.
Equally, some financial services firms have successfully launched various cutting-edge, technology-driven financial services covering seamless payment capture solutions, subscriptions payments, airtime payments and related solutions in the country.
A report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS0 has indicated that the volume of e-payment transactions across all electronic payment channel in the country rose from N43.85 trillion in 2014 to N48.93 trillion in 2015.
This simply showed  that between 2014 and 2015, the value of e-payment transactions witnessed a growth of approximately 11.57 per cent despite the downturn in the nation’s economy.
The report also stated that the total value of financial transactions across all electronic payment channels in Nigeria between December 2015 and the end of the second quarter of 2016 stood at N33.8trillion. The report further maintained that, within the same period, e-payment transactions, through the Nigeria Interbank Settlement Instant Payment System (NIP), rose to N 19.3 trillion, making it the highest settlement recorded in the banking sector. At the same period transactions through the Nigeria Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) accounted for a total sum of N7.67 trillion, while electronic payment transactions through automated teller machine (ATMs) recorded N2.59 trillion. Also, Internet/web-based e-payment transactions recorded N77.8bilion, while Point of Sales (POS) stood at N59.3billion.
Going by these statistics, there is no doubt that the e-payment system is making a great impact on Nigerians’ financial transactions, just as its popularity and acceptance have continued to witness upward growth.
NBS also disclosed that the volume of electronic payment channels in the Nigeria Banking Sector for the first, second and third quarters of 2016 was 628,590,301 valued about N46.091trillion.
The payment channels gauged were the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Instant Payment (NIP), NIBSS Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT), Cheque transactions, Point of Sale (PoS), Automated Teller Machine (ATM), Internet or Web  and Mobile (Phone Money) Payments.
A breakdown shows that in third quarter alone, about 238.89 million deals worth N18.16 trillion passed through the seven platforms, as against  202.88 million transactions of over N14.704 trillion and more than 186.82 million of businesses worth of N13.23 trillion in the second and first quarters respectively.
Top on the chart was NIP which recorded more than N25.956 trillion through about 95.15 million transactions. It was followed by NEFT with N11.26 trillion done in 22.54 million transfers. As for paper payment, about N4.31trillion was cashed through 8.741 million cheques, to make that channel ranked third as a mode of payment for the period.
The rest include: ATM, which witnessed over N3.451trillion carried out through 418.29 million withdrawals and retraction or savings. Recall that from 2013 to 2015, about N1.13 trillion was done via over 124.79 million transactions.
Mobile payments recorded more than N526.58 billion through over 33.6million business deals. PoS came 6th as bank customers use the platform to do business above N498.42 billion through 41.37 million deals.
Last year alone, PoS transactions in the country closed at about N448.513billion, representing 44 per cent over the N312.072 billion of the previous year.
In all, transactions worth of about N1.193trillion were done through the 75,000 active PoS in the country since 2014 up to the end of August 2016.
The last platform considered for e-payment was  Internet or Web banking, which saw the least transaction of  about N88.732billion done by customers in 8,913,148 deals.
In all, experts applaud the trend as an indication that Nigerians have fully embraced the culture of electronic banking.
For instance, the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, recently noted that the growth of  electronic banking was very fast especially now that several transactions are done via ATM, POS, Internet banking, Mobile Money, and NEFT. He added that today, account opening is now possible on Social Media platforms such as Facebook as result of the emerging migration of financial services and transactions from banking halls of brick and mortar to the clouds.
This is considered a big boon to the promoters of online-only bank in the country. Already, a bank which promised to conduct its business only through telephone, mobile and internet banking has commenced business in Lagos. The bank has vowed to run branchless office, while providing cutting edge banking services.
Also last September, the former Managing Director of a popular online mall said he was set to float the nation’s first online-only bank in the country.
The online bank is looking to operate at a lower cost and offer financial services at such low cost to its customers.
“Because of how the banks are set up, with bricks and mortar networks, they’re more inclined to service multinationals and large government institutions.Their cost structure isn’t favourable to servicing small businesses. Because we’re using technology and algorithms to assess the risk, it allows them to offer financial products to these customers at a low cost,”  said it managing director.


Heritage Bank’s
e-payment
service

Heritage Bank Limited is one of the banks in Nigeria  noted for efficient electronic payment system. The bank has an array of electronic products which include HeritagePay, personal Internet banking among others.
The HeritagePay is the bank’s corporate Internet banking platform which enables corporate organizations and government agencies to automatically handle payments of salaries and payment to third parties right from the comfort of their offices.
The personal internet banking provides customers a secure and convenient platform where they can execute banking transactions from the comfort of their homes and offices using an internet enabled device. Customers can take control of the transactions and can safely transfer funds, pay bills, airtime top up etc. Internet Banking will ensure customers do not have to go to the bank’s experience centres to get value.
Other products include Verve Corporate Debit Card (Naira), MasterCard Prepaid (Naira). The Verve Corporate Debit Card is issued to corporate customers of the bank. It runs on the Interswitch platform and is linked to accounts of these corporate customers to ease access to their funds everywhere they go. The card is issued in the company’s user’s name.
The MasterCard prepaid card is a flexible way of making payments without having to open an account with the bank. It can be used internationally in over 200 countries at the ATMs, POS terminals and to purchase goods and services at merchant websites, stores and malls. The cards could be personalized or non-personalized and open to customers and non-customers of the bank.
The bank also has HeritagePay (Corporate internet banking) which is a platform designed to corporate organizations have online access to their banking transaction on their Heritage Account from the comfort of their offices and Corporate Pay/AutoPay, which is a one-to-many payment platform that enables a company to make payments (salaries, payment to vendors and contractors and any third party payments, etc.) to several beneficiaries whilst respecting the various levels of authorizations and approvals incorporated into the payment process.
Besides this, Heritage Bank also offers Interbank Transfer Manager which is an account number-based product powered by NIBBS. The solution enables the bank to provide online real-time interbank funds transfer services to our customers, based on their bank accounts. To enhance the security of the platform, approval limits have been set in place before transactions can be consummated and token given to initiators and authorizers on the platform.
There is also the PayDirect which is a platform that is developed and deployed to the bank by Interswitch. This solution is designed to allow merchants collect payments from their customers through the various branches of any Bank on the PayDirect platform. The merchant is able to view transactions done by the bank online real time.
Payoutlet is also another e-product that makes it possible for the merchants to take advantage of various bank branches to consolidate collections into a single account. This solution enables merchants to collect money from their customers from any location of any bank and have money value routed into their specified bank account.
Heritage Bank also has another e-product known as the Portal. It is a solution to a suite of enterprise web applications that automates the manual processes of an organization into an electronic platform. It also automates both the administrative and operational activities of the organizations. Portal solution provides a way for enterprises to present a consistent look and feel of their organization with access control and procedures for multiple applications and databases on the web. A portal makes it possible for the interaction between the enterprises and the public.
The bank has also introduced the first transparent MasterCard in Nigeria to demonstrate its commitment to offer innovative e-payment services to its customers in the evolving cashless economy.
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Bank Limited, Dr. Ifie Sekibo says the Heritage Bank Transparent MasterCard is born out of the bank’s commitment to offer innovative banking services in a more convenient and efficient way to customers.
According to him, this is the philosophy behind our e-payment services. There is more to e-payment than Nigerians are currently enjoying, remarking that they are determined to take Nigerians to new heights of e-payment services that deliver unparalleled convenience and security.
The Heritage Bank Transparent MasterCard is available to new and existing customers of the bank.
“To own a Heritage Bank Transparent MasterCard is easy,” Dr. Sekibo says, adding that the card comes with no additional cost beyond the cost of applying for the average MasterCard.
The MD/CEO also posits that there is a huge difference between the current growth in volume of e-payment in the country and the potentials available, judging by the number of unbanked Nigerians with access to mobile telephone services.
He notes that while the volume of e-payment in Nigeria grew from N18.1trillion in 2012 to N35.1trillion in 2014 with transaction through Point of Sale (POS) also increasing from N48 billion in 2013 to N312 billion in 2014, the growth has not mirrored the huge population of mobile phone users in the country which currently stands at more than 105 million, adding that out of this figure, there are currently about 60 million Nigerians who do not have bank accounts but have phones.
He also says that innovation was inevitable in the banking industry due to changes in dynamics across the globe which has penetrated the Nigerian banking industry. These changes, he explains, are driven by forces of globalization, self-service mobile devices and regulation, adding that the impact of these changes on the Nigerian banking landscape has reflected in the sharp increase in the growth of electronic payment services between 2012 and 2014 in the country.
He observes that e-payment is now a commodity, innovative e-payment is the way to go. More innovation is required to surmount the growing challenges


Fidelity Bank Plc on-line platform

Related News

Fidelity Bank Plc is a highly diversified financial services provider and a leading player in the MSME market space, with an array of innovative electronic banking services aimed at empowering its customers with endless possibilities in a cashless economy.
With an increasing customer base and a large network of branches across major towns, cities and other locations in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank is channeling significant human and financial resources towards building innovative, secure digital banking platforms with a huge emphasis on user-friendly experience.

Fidelity mPoS
Fidelity Bank Plc, Nigeria’s highly diversified financial institution, is turning to mobile piont-of-sale to help micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) increase sales and broaden their customer base. The Fidelity mobile point of sale solution accepts Visa, Verve and MasterCard as a payment option on the go. As a world-class financial institution with a new corporate identity hinged on service excellence and efficiency, the banking strongly believes that the introduction of the mPoS will help improve the performances of MSMEs, particularly their contribution to the economy.
The launch of the device is in response to the growing demand for mobile-based payment solutions, as it is ideal for making card payments, especially for merchants that have never accepted card payments and previously operated with cash only, hence it will increase their sales and expand customer base. More importantly, the mPoS solution follows the ‘CHIP and PIN’ certification fore Nigeria, enhancing customer confidence that their electronic transactions are safe and secure. The solution involves a payment application and a card reader that connects to the merchant’s smartphone using Bluetooth with PIN  pad for PIN entry. The merchant would definitely need to access a data network for the application to work.

Dial 4 Cash
With its innovative instant banking platform *770*0#, which supports careless ATM withdrawals, all Fidelity individual account holders can now withdraw cash from their accounts with “Dial for Cash” through Quickteller enabled ATMs across the country. “ Dial for Cash” supports transactions from NGN1,000 to NGN 200,000. The user receives an eight-digit reference code and creates a four-digit PIN that can be used for safe withdrawals by dailing *770*8*amount#. This new service is a natural progression of the instant banking USSD service, which the bank currently offers bringing a new era of convenience in doing cash withdrawals. But more importantly, the careless withdrawal service comes with sufficient security measures in place to protect users. Every careless transaction requires the creation of a one-time PIN as well as the use of the *770 instant banking PIN to authorise every transaction.
Fidelity’s “Dial 4 Cash” is regarded as one of the most convenient and affordable ways to withdraw cash without going into the banking hall or using payment cards. This comes handy especially in an emergency where the  customer may not have his payment (Debit/Credit) card in hand but needs cash instantly. The launch of this service is indeed timely, considering the increasing number of USSD service users in the country.
The new Fidelity Online app is not just an upgraded of the old but also a new application with enhanced features that can be used with a range of mobile device such as Apple, Samsung, Blackberry and other Android-powered gadgets. The app offers customers a simple, seamless and secure service, where customers can bank, how and when they want.
One of the key features of the new platform is the ease of signing up for the service. Registration is a self-service process, not to mention the fact that customers can activate soft-tokens and set their transaction limit securely from the comfort of their homes or offices. Some of the other features of the Fidelity Online app include the ability to validate beneficiaries of cash transfers before a transfer is made; using the same user mane and password on both mobile and web; ease of changing password; and increased number of billers that can be paid directly from Fidelity Online such as utility bills, toll companies, churches, cable and Internet subscription and lots more.


Life, times and journey of late Mma Nwannediya Udeogu –Nee Ukpabi

By JONES UDEOGU

The beauty of death is that it begins the story of life. Thus, the beauty of life is the celebration of our earthly times, and journey since death itself is inevitable. For a wanderer was man from birth, born on the river of time, brimming with wonder and joy, yet, vainly gliding through  fables and dreams which the river of time had left before we woke on its breast nor, will attain till our eyes are closed in death. We continued not because we willed but, because we must complete our earthly journey on the river of time.
Elder Nwannediya Udeogu evolved unto the earth from Ndia Ntutu (the majority) kindred of Ulor, Emekwo and Nwankwo in the present Amakpo Autonomous Community, Igbere in Bende Local Government, of Abia State, Nigeria. The duo of Late Mazi, Ukpabi Ulor (a.k.a. Ukpabi Efi) and Late, Madam, Erinma Ukpabi (nee Abai Esse), of Eziukwu Ibinaukwu, Igbere, were her parents; and by them, she was brought unto this planet earth in the year, 1925.
She was the sixth child in the kitchen alongside, (Dede), Emmanuel Ukaegbu, Isaiah Akwari, Peter Ibekwe, Kalu Ukpabi and Madam Jessey Onyeje Ukpabi. Mma recalled with nostalgia; “As a toddler, I had a little knowledge about my mother. Kalu and my only sister, Onyeje, were always there for me, very very fond of me”. Yes, as a rear child, “Ohu ala”- (the last born) and indeed a beautiful piece, well built and endowed by nature’s gift, she always beamed juicy smiles on her face. In those days when education was barely making inroads into the life of the traditional culture, only lazy or stubborn children were allowed to go to school. The girl child education was a sort of taboo. Rather, the girl child was groomed for excellence in domestic chores, farming, and personal hygiene, preparatory for marriage. In the light of these, Mma Elder did not have the privilege of Western Education. But, through the instrumentality of the Church of Scotland Mission and dint of hard work, she was able to learn through the Igbo Sunday School Lessons. She could read and write in Igbo Language better than many of her time.
With time and greater commitment, she saw the need to learn more. For her to participate effectively and contribute meaningfully to the church conferences and community works, there was need for formal education. To fulfill this vision, she enrolled into the adult education program of the church. She took the program so serious that, it was a big surprise that, in a matter of days she could regale her peers with such English greetings as, How Are you? You are welcome, What are you doing? What is your name? And, am fine, among her other lexical prowess.
Mama was a beauty to behold in her adolescent. A paragon of beauty and virtue, athletic, pleasant and elegant. Little wonder, with these natural attributes, coupled with the fact that, she emerged from a respectable and sound family background, she became a delectable spot light. Her beauty caused stampede among eligible suitors who sort her hands in marriage as it used to be in a typical Igbo setting. She could not be hidden, much as a golden fish indeed.
The race to secure her mandate for marriage had attracted a barrage of eligible suitors and consequently had become so intense and competitive. And by the mid 40’s, she had been entrapped into marriage at a tender age to, Mazi, Samuel Aja Ikwuagwu (of blessed memory) from, Ibinanta Autonomous Community, Igbere. He was a Business man, who traded in Textiles. The Union had produced two issues, (male/female), before it was dimmed by a twist of fate.
Ab initio, as a destined child, God had already set a goal, vision and mission for her in life; she was undaunted and never deterred. She had approached, adopted and lived a life anchored on respect, decency and decorum. Nwanne had become more transparent, visible, youthful and elegant than ever before. “Mmiri mara ugo, asaala ugo ahu”. She had become, fantastically beautiful, awesome and tantalizing. And as a Christian, she was involved in the things of God early in life, following the biblical injunctions faithfully and waited for God’s time. Thus, in compliance, as enunciated in 1Timothy, 5:14-15, “So I would prefer younger widows get married, have children and take care of their home, giving the enemies no chance of speaking evil of us”. She did not demur at having to remarry. So, when the search light of that enterprising, handsome and dashing, Chief, D.O Udeogu spotted her, they became husband and wife again. That was in 1952. D.O Udeogu was a young business mogul based in Aba. He was a manager of men, materials and resources. A produce merchant, importer and exporter with interest in the Northern and Eastern parts of the country. He was a community leader and chairman, Igbere Development Co-operative limited.
Mma Elder embraced Christianity at a very tender age. She took her services to God so serious that, she made it her motto “Don’t ask of what God can do for you but, what you can do for God”. She laboured to inculcate this in her children and they are not departing from it.
While at Igbere, her doors were readily open to ministers of God, irrespective of denomination as well as new converts, ensuring that they were adequately taken care of, both physically and spiritually. Few of such ministers that enjoyed her benevolence include, Rev. Olo Ndukwe (the incumbent Rector, Hugh Goldie Theological Institute, Calabar) Rev. Augustine Etim Oku, Rev. Nte Nome. This wonderful and uncommon hospitality did not end with ministers of PCN. It went to others of the, Methodist Church, Assemblies of God Church, among others.
For us the children, this Ambassador and Warrior of Christ, Mma Nwannediya took her demise for us to begin to reflect deeper on life, times and journey to eternity. An amazon, a community leader, an activist, a humanist, unassuming, accommodating, enduring, humble, patient, a visioner and a friend, above all, a wife and a mother who played out her part with dignity, fidelity, humility, commitment, compassion, contentment, obedience and love for us to emulate.
JONES UDEOGU ( son of the deceased)
Former Commissioner for Finance and
Economic Planning, Abia State.