Nigerian banks in the past year paid out almost N400 million as cashback on the use of point of sale terminals even as four banks were last year sanctioned for non-reversal of dispense error within the specified 48 hour time frame given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Speaking with journalists yesterday at a press conference organized by the Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), CBN Assistant Director, Payment Policy and Oversight, Banking and Payment System, Shola Agboola noted that following the issuance of a circular directing banks to install and automize auto reversal, the apex bank had found four banks wanting.
“When we carried out our oversight function on the banks to ensure at they have done what they were asked to do, four banks were penalized and sanctions last year, he stated adding that “a situation whereby customers will have a problem, they go and complain and the bank will not attend to them can no longer continue.”
Also speaking at the press conference, NIBSS Executive Director, Business Development, Mrs Christabel Onyejekwe noted that the payment of cashback to bank customers have been stopped in December 2015 but will be replaced with the loyalty engine which will give out points for PoS usage.
She added that Forty-eight per cent of Point of Sale machines, acquired by the Deposit Money Banks and given to merchants and business outfits operating in the country in order to enhance the cashless policy, have become dormant. She said out of a total of 120,000 PoS machines in the country, only 62,000 were active, while a total of 100,000 terminals were already registered with the company.
Onyejekwe, said the NIBSS was constantly in discussion with banks to get the 58,000 dormant PoS devices active, she stressed that electronic payment in the country was growing significantly following the introduction of various incentive schemes by the CBN in collaboration with the NIBSS.
According to her “Electronic payments have been growing significantly in Nigeria and this is really encouraging. The NIBSS was set up by the Central Bank of Nigeria and licensed commercial banks and discount houses in 1993 to help streamline inter-bank payments and settlement mechanisms, and to promote electronic payments in the country.