CBN extends payment system scheme by five years

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the target date for its payment systems vision (PSV-2030) strategy, previously set for 2025 but now moved to 2030.

The CBN said the move was in response to evolving development of blockchain technology and other payment systems disruptions.

The CBN had announced that it had started the implementation process of the PSV 2030 to replace the PSV 2020, which aims to significantly reduce financial exclusion, promote electronic banking as well as other alternative banking channels.

Musa Jimoh, CBN director, payment systems management department, spoke on the review of the strategy at First Bank’s FinTech Summit 4.0, with the theme ‘How Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence will Disrupt FinTech in Nigeria.’

He added that the central bank was working on breaking down the licences for operators in the financial technology sector to allow small players in the industry access markets as it works on harmonising data in the financial sector as well as other initiatives that would deepen the payment systems framework in Nigeria.

Speaking on the payment system vision of CBN, Jimoh said: “Because of the ability of changes in technology is so high, we cannot wait 10 years to begin to review our strategies again.

“So, what we are proposing is to have a five-year strategy, which would then be called PSV-2025. And once we get approval for this, we would be looking at initiatives for the next five years.”

On how to expand the payment systems, he said: “Some of the initiatives we have put on the table, and some of the things we are trying to implement to deepen acceptance of payment systems and open the market for innovators and small businesses to enter the terrain.

“First is the regulatory sandbox, which is already in the public which we shared a draft framework for people to comment and then get back to us. We have gotten a lot of feedback and I am happy enough to announce that we are working together with the financial conduct authority in the United Kingdom in developing this regulatory sandbox and eventually we would customise it to our environment to ensure that it fits into our own ecosystem.

“Second is the open banking regime, which we have started working on in order to allow the entire ecosystem to work symbiotically. We want a situation where there would be no exclusivity on account data being held by banks again.

“Banks should be able to open up their accounts database and let fintech companies and other small companies add value-added services on account information they hold.”