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Nigeria’s payment landscape set for a revolution with contactless technology

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9 months ago

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Andrew Uaboi

Nigeria’s payment landscape set for a revolution with contactless technology

The payments industry thrives on constant innovation, and 2024 has presented a year of particularly significant transformations.

Within the Nigerian economic landscape, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) constitute over 90% of the total business landscape.

As Nigeria embraces digitization, SMBs equipped with the right tools and payment solutions are poised to thrive. Digital payments are transforming opportunities for SMBs to pay and be paid, making it possible to reach new audiences, easily accept secure payments, track and monitor spending, increase security and safety, improve efficiencies, and grow like never before.

Contactless payments are the catalyst for the next generation of payments, and the gateway for the countless possibilities in the world of connected devices.

They continue to gain traction among consumers, merchants, and banks worldwide. In Australia, for example, nearly 90% of card-present transactions are made through contactless payment means.

In London, the transportation system works with the same technology. This technology could streamline payments in Nigeria, producing significant benefits for the entire ecosystem.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has released guidelines for contactless payments. The guidelines seek to ensure that participants in contactless payments implement appropriate risk management measures while keeping to the best industry standards.

Contactless payment technology is a fast, convenient way to make everyday purchases, especially at supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, gas stations and public transportation, helping consumers transform their lifestyle by streamlining their payment experience – all in just a few seconds for each transaction.

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Consumers are the biggest winners: contactless technology allows payments to be made simply by bringing the card over the payment terminal via short-range wireless technology.

There is no need to swipe or dip the card, and in many cases, it isn’t necessary to enter a PIN or password. This technology has the same security standards employed by chip cards.

Say goodbye to the long lines at checkout! This technology provides benefits to store owners, who can use it to ensure quick, streamlined payments at the register and increase operational efficiency by reducing cash usage.

This in turn improves the user payment experience and increases sales. Without this technology, there is no interoperable platform for the growth of mobile payments in Nigeria or the use of increasingly popular new payment devices, including bracelets, watches, and rings.

Consumers want to use those devices wherever they go, in a universal manner, as it is currently done in more than 200 countries around the world when using their cards.

Contactless payments allow you to build new experiences to replace cash usage. Additionally, it offers powerful benefits to issuer banks.

Not only does it help penetrate small-ticket transactions and participate in new acceptance categories, but it also accelerates digital migration by driving preference for the banks’ products and developing new payment uses by combining tokens, biometrics, and other available platforms to improve the user experience.

Africa’s digital payments landscape has experienced significant growth over the last decade and South Africa leads the charge of contactless payments adoption on the continent, with more than 50% of all digital transactions being contactless.

The introduction of new technologies such as contactless in Nigeria will further support the CBN’s cashless policy to reduce the reliance on cash transactions.

The opportunity to expand contactless payments is huge, as it brings benefits to all ecosystem participants.

Nigeria’s payment landscape set for a revolution with contactless technology

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Aviation

Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight 

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11 hours ago

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November 14, 2024

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Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight 

 

An Abuja-Lagos flight was on Thursday aborted following a bird strike on the airplane belonging to Air Peace, forcing the authorities to ground the aircraft.

The bird strike experienced in the early hours reportedly prompted a ramp return to ensure the safety of passengers onboard.

All the passengers quickly disembarked and were calmed down before they were moved into another plane for the one-hour journey.

A bird strike is a collision between a bird and an aircraft, or other airborne animal, while the aircraft is in flight, taking off, or landing. And it can be a significant threat to aircraft safety.

Air Peace in a statement by its Head of Corporate Communications, Ejike Ndiulo, said the bird strike occurred at 6:30am, and all passengers disembarked normally.

The statement read, “We wish to inform our esteemed passengers that our Abuja- Lagos 06:30 flight experienced a bird strike before take-off, prompting a ramp return as a safety measure. All passengers disembarked normally.

“We have deployed a replacement aircraft for the affected flight in order to minimize disruptions, thus ensuring that passengers continue their journeys promptly.

“We appeal for the understanding of our valued passengers impacted by this development, as well as those on other flights that may experience delays.

“At Air Peace, we are committed to providing safe, comfortable, and reliable air travel for all our passengers.”

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Business

NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

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12 hours ago

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November 14, 2024

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NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and its partners have revved up crude oil and gas production to 1.8million barrels per day (mbpd) and 7.4standard cubic feet per day (scfd).

The company which announced this at a press briefing said the feat was achieved in compliance with the mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Speaking on the development, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari, congratulated the Production War Room Team that anchored the production recovery process.

“The team has done a great job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that are in the short and long terms acceptable to our shareholders based on the mandates that we
have from the President, the Honourable Minister, and the Board,” Kyari explained.

Giving details of the efforts of the Production War Room, the Chief War Room Coordinator and Senior Business Adviser to the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lawal Musa, disclosed that the feat was achieved through the collaborative efforts of Joint Venture and Production Sharing Contract partners, the Office of the National Security Adviser, as well as government and private security agencies.

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He said the interventions that led to the recovery of production cut across every segment of the production chain with security agencies closely monitoring the pipelines.
He stressed that when the Production War Room team was inaugurated on 25th June 2024, production was at 1.430mbpd, but the team swung into action, culminating into sustaining the production recovery to 1.7mbpd in August and hitting the current 1.808mbpd in November.
“We are confident that with this same momentum and with the active collaboration of all stakeholders, especially on the security front, we can see the possibility of getting to 2mbpd by the end of the year,” he stated.
Also speaking on the development, Chairman of the NNPC Ltd Board of Directors, Chief Pius Akinyelure, who also congratulated the team, said he was happy to be part of the production recovery process, adding: “today, I will leave this place with my heart full of joy”.

He charged the Company’s Management to come up with a cashflow projection based on the new production figures to facilitate planning, stressing that he was looking forward to further production increase to 3mbpd.

On his part, the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the team and pledged the Federal Government’s support for the company to do more.

 

NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

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FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects

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12 hours ago

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November 14, 2024

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FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects

The Federal Government has secured a loan facility of $134million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to help farmers boost seeds and grain production in the country.

This is contained in a statement issued by Anthonia Eremah, Chief Information Officer, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, on Thursday, in Abuja.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, made his know at the unveiling of the 2024/2025 National Dry Season Farming in Calabar, Cross River State capital.

Kyari explained that with the re-introduction of the national dry season farming to boost year-round agricultural production, the loan would be handy and guarantee national food security in the country.

The minister said the initiative is under the National Agricultural Growth Support Scheme-Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP) Project.

He said the federal government had declared an emergency on food production to enable all Nigerians to get easy access to quality and nutritional food at affordable rates.

Kyari also said government wants to use the agricultural sector for national economic revival through increase in production of some staple food crops such as wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, soybean, and cassava during both dry and wet season farming.

He added that 107,429 wheat farmers were supported under phase 1 of the 2023/2024 dry season, and 43,997 rice farmers under the second phase of the 2023/2024 dry season.

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The minister said recently, government supported 192,095 rice, maize, sorghum/millet, soyabean and cassava farmers under the 2024 wet season across the 37 States including the FCT.

He said Cross River was leading 16 other states in wheat production, adding that over 3000 wheat farmers have been listed to benefit from the support to grow the grain.

Kyari noted the Cross River government’s commitment to wheat production.

He said it informed why the federal government is partnering with the state to kick start the maiden wheat production and enlisting them among states commencing the current 2024/2025 dry season farming.

“The 2024/2025 dry season farming, the project is targeted to support 250,000 wheat farmers across the wheat-producing states with subsidised agricultural inputs.

“This is to cultivate about 250,000 hectares with an expected output of about 750,000 metric tonnes of wheat to be added to the food reserve to reduce dependence on importation of the product and also increase domestic consumption.

“Equally the programme will provide support to 150,000 rice farmers under the second phase to cover all the 37 states, including FCT, with an expected output of about 450,000 metric tonnes,” he said.

 

FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects

(NAN)

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