Don't Miss


Home   >   Headline News   >   CBN In Talks With NIPOST Over Turning Post Offices To Mobile Payment Centres

CBN In Talks With NIPOST Over Turning Post Offices To Mobile Payment Centres

By on November 9, 2011

Post offices may serve as mobile payment centres, if talks between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) sail through.

Under the plan, CBN and NIPOST will share facilities to promote the mobile payment initiatives.

A senior official, Shares Services Office, Governor’s Department, CBN, Mr Chidi Umeano, said the apex bank had discussed with the management of NIPOST on the possibility of using its offices nationwide. He said CBN task the decision because NIPOST has several abandoned offices that can be upgraded for mobile payment needs.

He said if the arrangement worked, NIPOST’s offices would play key roles in the growth of mobile payment services.

Umeano spoke at a capacity building workshop for microfinance bank(mfb) operators.

He said: “Instead people buying stamps in NIPOST offices, they would be going there to buy e-values, and later convert it to cash across the country.”

Umeano said provisions had been made for payment options, such as Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards, Point of Sales (POS), Web Banking, among others.

He said depositors who withdraw over N150,000 across the counters in Lagos would be sanctioned as from January 1, while those in other states would be penalised as from June 2012.

He said errant depositors would lose 10 per cent of the amount they withdraw in excess of N150,000, adding that the development would make people to use electronic payment terminals provided by the banks.

Also, the Deputy Post Master-General of the Federation, Mr Yashin Bitiyong, said NIPOST has initiated discussion with the CBN and the twenty three banks to promote mobile banking services in the country. Bitiyong said when the discussion sails through, NIPOST‘s customers would be able to key into networks provided by the banks and the e-payment service providers to get the services they are looking for.

“The banks and the e-payment service providers would provide networks that would facilitate mobile payment services. NIPOST would key into networks to ensure that its customers wherever they are, link up and get the services they are looking for”.

He said NIPOST is not only discussing with CBN and the banks, but its building relationship with technology providers to achieve the desire results. Bitiyong said the agency would use its relationship with the Universal Postal Union (UPN) to advantage by opening its own software soon.

“We are opening our own software based on the relationship we have with other countries at the Universal Postal Union. UPN is an association of countries tasked with the objective of developing postal services globally. Being the Nigerian representative at the Union, we would ensure that we open our own software. We would bring the software to Nigeria, and we would use the software at the most backward end. I’m talking about rural areas. We would find telephone, especially handsets useful in this regard. We want to open our network to receive messages from the telephone, in order to enhance the growth of the mobile payment services,” he added.

Similarly, the Chairman, National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB), Lagos State Chapter, Mr Olufemi Babajide, said the cashless banking programme is feasible in the country.Babajide said microfinance banks have important roles to play in mobile banking, in view of its strength and objectives. He said the microfinance sub-sector has a market size of over 50 million, representing about 65 per cent of the unbanked population in the country.

One Comment

  1. Alphonsus Alhassan

    November 13, 2011 at 12:37 am

    CBN is just about saving NIPOST from extinction.  If this works, it’ll help to save jobs of a dying institution.  Good work!