US grant to protect e-payments in Nigeria

Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cash-less policy, the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has provided a grant of $510 000, or N82.6 million, for the establishment of a Disaster Recovery Centre (DRC) to fortify and protect e-payment transactions in the country, The Guardian reports.

Chidi Umeano, head of shared services at CBN, who made this known in Lagos, said the grant will be used to finance any qualified US firm to provide expert consulting services in determining the technical requirements, business and operational models for the project.

The apex bank is also working on a shared power infrastructure service to the banks, as well as developing the Nigeria Financial Services Network (NFSN) to effectively achieve these objectives, Vanguard writes.

“The CBN is also setting up IT Standards Board and requisite governance framework to oversee the administration of IT standards in the industry and drive its adoption across the players in the industry. We understand that payment is the key driver of cost distribution in the industry and accounts for almost 60% of the industry cost base,” he said.