The Association of Corporate Communication and Marketing Professionals in Banks (ACAMB) has urged banks to deepen the adoption of digital payment channels, including QR code payments, following a courtesy visit to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) PLC in Lagos.
The visit, which brought the leadership of both bodies together, followed a deliberation around a shared concern with emphasis on the need for the industry to strengthen its payment rails and speak with a united and accurate voice when service disruptions occur.
Leading the ACAMB delegation, President, Jide Sipe said the association wants a forum where banks can have a single conversation about the sector, so that new and valuable developments are effectively disseminated to the public promptly and accurately.
“We want to make sure there is a space where banks engage, share ideas, and ask relevant questions about how to grow the industry as well as manage its challenges,” Sipe said.
The association’s President added that ACAMB has been meeting stakeholders across the sector, including the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), to understand where the association can support better collaboration and engagement.
Sipe pointed to recent system downtime as a test of how the industry communicates. He said ACAMB wants the narrative around such incidents to rest on accurate information rather than on accounts from people outside the operations, and proposed a stakeholders’ conference that would connect heads of corporate communications directly with NIBSS.
Responding, NIBSS Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Premier Oiwoh, said, reliable digital payment infrastructures are foundational for economic inclusion. “That is why one of the key ingredients that shape our philosophy at NIBSS is our commitment to financial inclusion. Seamless and effective payment has always been at the core of what we do and one key path to achieving this is ensuring a payment system that works. This will in return optimise revenue security, better customer experiences, and faster time-to-market which in return facilitates economic growth.
Oiwoh said that since joining NIBSS in May 2019, the organisation has prioritised industry fairness and trust in digital payments by tracking transaction “velocity” to anticipate crashes and shifting load between environments to keep services running.
“As we all know, customers expect payments to be fast, accurate, and flexible”.
He further ascribed NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) as the foundation of that work, describing it as Nigeria’s first account-based instant transfer and, by the organisation’s account, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, when it launched about 15 years ago.
Oiwoh linked that foundation to the National Payment Stack (NPS) created by NIBSS, which he said is effectively cutting transaction time and lifting efficiency across the system.
By his account, the NPS “enables secure, real-time payments, cross-border transactions, and financial inclusion across Nigeria and Africa,” giving banks and customers faster, more reliable rails to move money within the country and beyond its borders.
According to him, NPS, today ranks top compared to other payment systems across the globe, including India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) due to the obvious evidence inherent in its performance, which is second to none at the moment and we are proud that this came out of Nigeria.
He also spoke on other key responsibilities of NIBSS, which include but not limited to fashioning out best innovative solutions to promote interoperability among banks, deepening trust and awareness with the digital payment platform and most importantly tactical support in helping to curb fraud, which has been immensely successful with numerous fraud mitigations leading to high profile arrests, since assuming office, particularly with the help of law enforcement agencies.
He also spoke on the need for banks to also adopt other innovative ways of payment like the NQR (Nigeria Quick Response) code which he noted is a secure, account-based payment solution designed by NIBSS to simplify and reduce the cost of mobile transactions. It allows customers to securely transfer funds simply by scanning a merchant’s displayed QR code with their banking app. Some of the benefits, he mentioned, include, Instant Settlement; Instant Notifications; Zero Onboarding Cost; Lower Transaction Fees, NQR significantly lowers processing and transaction fees across various price bands.
According to Oiwoh, “there is absolutely no huge cost to acquire or set up the merchant infrastructure, businesses only need to print or display the code. Both the buyer and the seller get immediate transaction alerts, allowing for real-time payment verification. Most importantly, there are fewer disputes & chargebacks. The inherent benefits point to an efficient system that further engenders ease for all”, he said.
The conversation reinforced an industry shift toward faster, contactless payments, with ACAMB urging banks to expand their rollout of NIBSS NQR-powered QR payments for and on behalf of the financial service industry, which let customers pay by scanning a code rather than reaching for cash. Oiwoh pointed out that United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc was among the early movers, onboarding all its POS merchants onto NQR so that customers without their cards can simply scan to pay.
Founded in 1996, ACAMB continues to position itself as the industry’s voice on reputation, advocacy, and professional standards. It continues to hold sway as an association committed towards restoring the ethics and public confidence in the financial sector as well as shaping positive views as the sector emerges stronger within and outside Nigeria, subSahara and African markets.
