Nigeria ranked 7th position on PoS transactions in Africa-Report
Nigeria has been ranked seventh position among African countries where the use of point of sale (PoS) forms part of transactions, according to a report by Indexmundi.
The report by Indexmundi indicated that only 21 percent of total transactions in the country are done through the PoS device.
Other countries ahead of Nigeria include Egypt, Morocco and Kenya, while South Africa stands at the top with 91 percent followed by Ghana 80 percent and Tunisia is third with 79 percent.
The PoS density per 100,000 people in Nigeria is 13 according to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), while PoS density in India is 67; Uganda has 453, while Namibia recorded 338.
According to the apex bank, the target for Nigeria is to meet Brazil’s PoS deployment rate of 2,247 per 100,000 people by 2020.
The initiative would lead to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contributions, job creation, causing a ripple effect on the economy while boosting national pride and reducing exposure of national security in the area of espionage.
At the just concluded CashlessAfrica Expo, Kevin Chung of Avante International Technology, explained that although the communication network and bandwidth are adequate, the data centres in the financial communities in Nigeria needs to upgrade from Tier 1-2 to Tier 3-4 to enable the cashless economy.
On his part, Tunde Ogungbade, managing director, Global Accelerex Limited, said that cash places a huge toll on GDP and that in Nigeria cost of cash management is projected by CBN to be N250billion by 2020, adding that “There is high percentage of unbanked in the country and uneven access to money, these hobbles cashless initiative in the country.”
He listed the barriers to cashless future to include high rate of illiteracy, inadequate sensitization and education as well as inadequate instruments and channels.
Ogungbade cited the benefits of cashless future to include better access to capital for micro-merchants and small business, and increase instruments to drive economic growth and development.
The sector’s regulator, he said need to implement policies and regulations that promote electronic payment acceptance, lowering of transaction cost and provision of alternative payment before penalizing the use of cash as well seek and explore innovation at all steps of the payment process.
Mrs Onajite Regha, executive secretary/CEO, E-Payment Providers Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN), affirmed that operators of the payment system have toiled so hard to match innovation with needs, and have engaged tirelessly to ensure the integrity of the payment systems.
“In the same vein, our regulators have not left any stone unturned to ensure that our payment systems meet their desire to make it nationally utilized and internationally recognized. As an Association E-PPAN has remained the bridge between the providers, the regulators and the users. It has not been an easy ride but we can proudly say we have come a long way since 2012,” Regha said.
