The Nigerian Inter-bank Settlement System Plc has revealed that 48% of Point of Sale (POS) machines, acquired by the Deposit Money Banks and given to merchants and business outfits operating in the country in order to enhance the cashless policy, have become dormant.
The NIBSS was set up by the Central Bank of Nigeria and licensed commercial banks and discount houses in 1993 to help streamline inter-bank payments and settlement mechanisms, and to promote electronic payments in the country.
Executive Director, Business, NIBSS, Mrs. Christabel Onyejekwe, who spoke at a joint press conference with the CBN in Lagos on Monday, said out of a total of 120,000 PoS machines in the country, only 62,000 were active, while a total of 100,000 terminals were already registered with the company.
Onyejekwe, who said the NIBSS was constantly in discussion with banks to get the 58,000 dormant PoS devices active, however stressed that electronic payment in the country was growing significantly following the introduction of various incentive schemes by the CBN in collaboration with the NIBSS.
According to her, electronic payments have been growing significantly in Nigeria, with 18 million transactions recorded in December 2015.
The NIBSS director said as part of the efforts to encourage the adoption of e-payment in the country, the CBN and the NIBSS would reward various categories of users of e-payment products on Thursday in Lagos.
