CBN TO COMMENCE 24-HOUR POS TRANSACTION SETTLEMENT

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said in Lagos that it would commence a 24-hour  transaction settlement  on Point of Sales (PoS) for merchants. Mr Tunde Lemo, the Deputy Governor, Operations of the bank, stated this at a seminar to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Ikeja District. The theme of the seminar was 'Complementing the Efforts of CBN-Imperatives and Realities of Cash-less Policy'.

He said that the 24-hour transaction settlement would be achieved through a method described as 'Straight Through Process (STP)'  Lemo, represented by Mr Dipo Fatokun, the Director, Banking and Payments System Department of the bank,  said the process would allow immediate credit of merchants' accounts, instead of the present two days settlement. He said that the development would also increase people's confidence on the cash-less policy and encourage frequent usage of PoS terminals.

Lemo said that the CBN Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had already signed a directive on the development, adding that the new process would start on Sept. 30, this year. Lemo, however, disclosed that the CBN was planning to rollout PoS terminals that would be Wi-Fi enabled to improve on the connectivity problem. The deputy governor said that one of the challenges facing the cash-less policy, particularly in the area of mobile payment was a lack of awareness that the policy was in progress.

He said that the CBN had registered additional three telecommunications companies to complement the initial two in providing connectivity for the mobile money payment. Lemo said that 14 mobile money agents had been registered in addition to the existing 16 for effective service delivery. The President of ICAN, Mr Adedoyin Owolabi, said that as accountants, the new policy presented fresh challenges for audit control reconciliation and accounting.

Owolabi said that the policy presented a window of opportunity to clients, employers and stakeholders who would look up to accountants to provide solutions that impacted positively on businesses. He said that the policy would promote safety and control systemic and operational risks inherent in manual transactions.  Mr Patrick Sanni, the Chairman of ICAN, Ikeja District, said that the body would continue to partner stakeholders to ensure that members keyed into and benefit from the policy.

Sanni implored members to embrace the core value and ethics of the accounting profession.