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Oiwoh: Nigeria’s Global Leading Light in Digital Payment Innovation
•Explains NIBBS role in NIMC multi-purpose card
James Emejoin Abuja
Managing Director/Chief Executive, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Mr. Premier Oiwoh, said the country was a global leader in digital payment innovation, a feat he said deserved to be celebrated.
Speaking at a media parley and information session on the General NIMC Multi-Purpose Card in Abuja, Oiwoh said the digital innovation delivered by AfriGo Financial Services Limited was one among several other achievements by NIBBS in recent times.
AfriGo card scheme is owned 100 per cent by NIBSS on behalf of commercial banks, while Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also partners with NIBSS to manage the card company.
Oiwoh told THISDAY on the side-lines of the meeting that other countries, including the United States, were currently trying to play catch up in replicating some of the digital payment innovations in Nigeria delivered by NIMC, in collaboration with Afrigo, which implemented the domestic card scheme.
Oiwoh said Nigeria was the first country in the world to launch the Instant Payment rail in 2010, adding that other countries in the world, including the U.S., were currently trying to deploy the instant payment.
He pointed out that the multi-purpose card was also an innovation in the world among a lot of “firsts and something we should be proud of as Nigerians”.
He said the AfriGo card product remained 100 per cent Nigerian, domestically owned, with a lot of its features being first in the world.
The NIBBS boss said, “There’s something we often don’t talk about. Nigeria was the first country in the world in 2010 to launch the instant payment rail.
“Right now, the countries in the world, even the U.S., is trying to launch instant payment. So, in 2010, Nigeria went live as the first country in the world. That was not celebrated.
“I also want to specifically mention that with AfriGo, we’ve also achieved a lot of firsts.
“For instance, the best card in the whole world that gives you instant credits on the PoS machine. It has never happened anywhere in the world. But Nigeria has done it again for the world to follow.”
Commenting on the contribution of NIBBS in the new national card scheme, Oiwoh said, “You know, at NIBBS, we have the interoperability arrangement. We have a lot of financial data in terms of payment.
“And so, where we come in here is that since Afrigo is owned by NIBBS 100 per cent, on behalf of all the commercial banks and the central bank, who are the owners of Afrigo.
“We felt it was necessary that as a Nigerian company that has been there for over 32 years, we are now birthing a card payment rail that will work proudly with NIBBS to provide those rails through Afrigo and other payment schemes.”
He added, “For instance, the NQR, which is on the card, is also riding on the NIBBS rail to ensure, because a lot of Nigerians cannot read or write, you don’t want to take them out or make them scared.
“Despite the fact that the product itself is so uniquely designed, with your fingerprints, you can authenticate transactions.
“If you don’t remember your account number, just present the card, and then you can scan the QR code and do whatever you want to do, by just talking to whoever has scanned your card, and then you can also authenticate that.
“So, those are the areas that NIBBS advises in terms of payment detail and guides to ensure that Nigerians derive the full benefit and are excited. And I’m very proud as a Nigerian to see this day and to see things happening.”
AfriGo card scheme is a domestic card scheme that allows for online and offline transactions in Nigeria.
NIMC, NIBSS, and CBN work together to deliver the card scheme
While NIMC issues the National Identity Number (NIN) and General Multipurpose Cards (GMCs), the AfriGo card scheme is used in the Government-to-People (G2P) programme, which includes a farmer digital ID registry.
The AfriGo card scheme is intended to promote financial inclusion, reduce the demand for foreign exchange, and improve transactional security.