A new regulation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has stipulated a penalty of N2.5million on Deposit Money Banks and other Financial Institutions on every repeated occurrence of specific infractions and termination of the use of the unapproved end-to-end e-payment solution.
Particularly, the new regulation will affect payments of salaries, pensions and other remittances, suppliers and revenue collections in Nigeria with regards to end-to-end electronic payment.
Citing a circular, the Punch Newspaper, noted that the apex bank said the objective of the end-to-end electronic payment of salaries, pensions, suppliers and taxes initiative was fully aligned with the core objectives of the National Payment Systems Vision 2020, which was to ensure the availability of safe, effective and efficient mechanisms for conveniently making and receiving all types of payments from any location and at any time, through multiple electronic channels.
According to the circular, the new regulation will reduce the time and costs of transactions, minimise leakages in revenue receipts and at the same time provide reliable audit trails, thereby making the Nigerian payments system align with international best practices.
“This regulation, therefore, is set out to provide all stakeholders with the operational procedures and regulations that guide end-to-end electronic payment, as defined in section 6.0(i) of this regulation, of all forms of salaries, pensions, suppliers and taxes in Nigeria including levies, social payments, penalties, recovery, bills, honorarium,” the CBN stated.