COMMITTEE of e-banking Industry Heads (CeBIH) has called for the deployment of electronic payment services focused on the lifestyle of the financially excluded in the country.
CeBIH Chairman, Mr. Tunde Kuponiyi, who made the call at the just concluded retreat of the group in Uyo, Akwa Ibom stressed that epayment services, especially mobile payments, focused on lifestyle of the financially excluded are critical to achieving the nation’s financial inclusion goal.
He said, “the inclusion service must address what these segments spend money on typically and must address their lifestyle.”
Making a case for the use of mobile payment to drive financial inclusion, Kuponiyi, who is also the Head, Cards and e-Banking for Ecobank Nigeria Limited, said, “the latest report on BVN suggests that we have a total of 20 mil- lion accounts in this system. This clearly is an indication of the banked populace and also emphasises the need for financial inclusion with its attendant benefits. EFINA reports that Nigeria has over 148 million mobile phone (GSM) subscribers and this makes the mobile platform a veritable way of reaching the unbanked for financial inclusion as a lot more people are on this mobile platform than any other platform.
“The good thing about the mobile phone and, in fact, any device that has internet connectivity, is that it can be used as a payment device and this is what will significantly enhance inclusion not only as store of value but also as a payment platform. It is imperative as we develop the mobile to enhance inclusion to also look at acceptance of payment from the mobile as the process won’t be concluded till value is really added to the BOP that we want included financially.”
Speaking further, he said that achieving the nation’s financial inclusion goal of reducing the population of financially excluded to 20 per cent of adult population by
2020, requires collaboration among the various stakeholders in the financial services sector. He said, “the implementation of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy requires the collaboration of multiple stakeholders, including providers, which are the institutions that provide financial products and services, as well as their partner infrastructure and technology. “Enablers, which are regulators and public institutions responsible for setting regulations and policies on financial inclusion. Supporting institutions, which are institutions that enhance and support CBN’s efforts to achieve the national financial inclusion goals.
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