E-payment transactions hit N35.1tn – Heritage Bank CEO

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Heritage Bank Limited, Mr. Ifie Sekibo, said electronic payment transactions in the country grew from N18.1tn in 2012 to N35.1tn in 2014.

He said innovation was inevitable for the banking industry, adding that the changing dynamics of banking across the globe had necessitated the need for the country to move along the direction of e-banking, among other things.

A statement by the bank quoted Sekibo as noting that the changes were driven by forces of globalisation, self-service mobile devices and regulation.

He spoke recently at the annual Cashless Card Expo of Central Bank of Nigeria.
According to him, the impact of the changes on the Nigerian banking landscape has been reflected in the sharp increase in the growth of electronic payment services between 2012 and 2014 in the country.

He said, “The volume of e-payment in Nigeria grew from N18.1tn in 2012 to N35.1tn in 2014. While transactions through Point of Sale increased from N48bn in 2013 to N312bn in 2014, Instant Pay transactions increased from N3.8tn in 2012 to N19.9tn in 2014.”

The Heritage Bank boss, however, said that the growth in e-payment did not show the huge population of mobile phone users in the country.

Sekibo said, “There are over 105 million mobile phones users in Nigeria. Also 60 million of Nigerians do not have bank accounts but have phones. Further, research has shown that 92 per cent of banking transactions can be done without human intervention.

“Convenient banking is the norm and differentiation can only come via innovation. E-payment is now a commodity, innovative e-payment is the way to go.”
The CEO said the lender was committed to introducing more innovative banking services.

[Punch]