It was meant to ease payment. But fraudsters have cashed in on it and turned electronic payment into another thing. They defraud individuals and institutions electronically, raising doubts over this mode of payment. With the proposed cash-less economy set to take off soon, there are fears that this issue, if not addressed, may truncate the project, ADLINE ATILI reports
The cash-less economy, promoted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), will revolutionise the financial landscape just like the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) changed the face of telecommunications, experts have said. They, however, argue that much of the success of the initiative will be from the development of mechanisms to combat fraud and other drawbacks in the payment system.
Electronic payment is the term used for any kind of payment processed without using cash or cheques. This payment option enables businesses to accept and process credit cards, debit/Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards, fleet cards and gifts/loyalty cards as forms of payments. Transactions are processed and authorised instantly through a card terminal or gateway.
The development of cash-less solutions in Nigeria, according to the CBN, is to ensure financial inclusion of the un-banked and under-served and to reduce the presence of cash in the economy, by making electronic payment (e-payment) channels available; riding on proliferation of telecommunications devices and other e-payment channels.
According to the apex bank, e-payments have exciting potential within Nigeria given the low infrastructure requirements and the transformations expected in the financial system. Nevertheless, the identification of fraud as barrier to the success of the initiative creates cause for concern.
Detailed report link: here
