Nigeria drives cashless project

manufacturing companies to supply the point-of-sale (POS) terminals for the Cashless Lagos initiative, billed to commence on 1 January 2012, Vanguard reports.

According to The Nation Online, PAX Technology, Bitel, Ingenico and Verifone were the four firms that made the list “after a thorough process by a committee comprising key stakeholders in the payments system value chain”.

It was decided that terms would be negotiated with POS terminal manufacturers on behalf of the industry, with a view to reducing costs and guarantee greater access to the platforms.

A 30% discount was negotiated on terminals with each of these manufacturers on behalf of the industry. The terminals are available to any terminal owner, acquirer, merchant, bank or other stakeholders wishing to participate in this arrangement.

In This Day, CBN deputy governor of operations, Tunde Lemo, is quoted as saying: “This is a welcome development, as it shows the benefits we can achieve when we do things collaboratively.

“As a mark of commitment to this market, the selected manufacturers have offered to discuss buying back existing terminals in the Nigerian market that might not comply with the CBN guidelines, at a negotiated price to be determined between manufacturers and the sellers.”