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CeBIH seeks new policy against e-payment fraud

By BusinessNews Staff on December 2, 2014

Committee of electronic-Banking Industry Heads has called for a regulatory environment that will promote innovation and further prevent fraud in the e-payment industry.

The CeBIH Chairman, Mr. Tunde Kuponiyi, who made the call, emphasised the importance of appropriate regulatory framework in moving the nation’s nascent e-payment sector to the next level.

He spoke in Abuja during the annual retreat of the organisation themed, “Payment System Vision 2020 – Creating an enabling environment through policy regulations”

Kuponiyi said, “For the industry to prosper and for innovation to thrive, a sound and complementary regulatory framework is very much required. Such a framework should provide a level playing field for all players to enable the customer to exercise his choices as regards choosing a particular service provider.

“Other important components for such a regulatory framework will also encompass issues relating to customer protection , fraud prevention, security and fair pricing.

A communiqué issued after the retreat also quoted a global retail payment expert, Mr. John Chaplin, who also spoke at the retreat, as advocating smart regulation for the e-payment system in the country.

He said although banks desired less regulation, regulation was critical to sustainable competition which according to him is necessary for the growth of the payment industry.

He added that “frequent rule change is a sign of bad regulation and it deters investment. The industry must actively work with regulators to achieve a good outcome. Clear, consistent, even-handed and risk-based regulation is the goal.”

“Leaving the market to market forces will lead to higher cost, which would drive out everybody. Hence the aim of regulation should be how to drive down cost”.

Kuponiyi, in the communiqué, said that the retreat was designed to discuss the changes and challenges of the Payment Vision 2020 20 in Nigeria and how this should lead to a paradigm shift in the way banks were doing their business, especially in the area of retaining and increasing their customer base.

The CeBIH chairman said, “The basic underlying current that runs through this changing landscape is the ever -increasing reliance on technology to cater to the needs of customers and process vast number of transactions including payment transactions.

Commenting on some of the policies introduced by the CBN to enhance e-payment in the country, Kuponiyi said, “The question is, are these positive strategic interventions toward the realisation of the vision 2020 20 or are they fragmented policies that will produce little or no impact on the overall scheme of things? I believe that some of the policies have pointed the industry to the direction of the goldmine.

“However, there needs to be the official will by the regulator to see the results manifest. For instance, PSV 2020 20 and some of the adjoining policies and guidelines released by CBN reveal some untapped opportunities for banks.

“In one of such policies, CBN made it clear that financial inclusion should be seen not only as a social responsibility but also as a potential business model because of the huge untapped market that it seeks to bring into the fold of banking services. Thus this ‘bottom of the pyramid’ which comprises a huge section of the Nigerian population presents a large untapped market for Nigerian banks.”

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