The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) not to use any electronic payment solutions that are not approved by the apex regulator.
The apex bank which disclosed this in its guidelines for the regulation of electronic payments and collections for public and private sectors in the country, also said that violations of the above will attract penalty of N2 million for DMB and N1 million for OFIs on every repeated occurrence.
The CBN directed that banks should ensure that third party end-to-end e-payment solution used by the bank/financial service provider is approved by CBN.
The CBN regulation which is a revision of the Guidelines on Electronic Payment of Salaries, Pensions, Suppliers and Taxes in Nigeria (2014) also introduced other fines for other forms of infractions.
The apex bank said in the regulation on its website that it was intended to guide the end-to-end electronic payment of salaries, pensions and other remittances, suppliers and revenue collections in Nigeria.
Explaining further, the apex bank said “The objective of the regulation is to fully align with the core objectives of the National Payments System Vision 2020. “It is to ensure the availability of safe, effective and efficient mechanisms for conveniently making and receiving all types of payments from any location and at any time through multiple electronic channels.
“This will reduce the time and costs of transactions, minimise leakages in revenue receipts and at the same time provide reliable audit trails, thereby ensuring that the Nigerian Payments System aligns with international best practices,” it said.
