•Fee now N3.75
By Chinwendu Obienyi
Economic analysts have shared divergent opinions on the recent reduction of transaction processing fees for Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Instant payment.
The NIBSS had announced that it will slash transaction processing fee for its Instant Payment from N5 to N3.75k effective from July 1, 2023.
According to a letter, dated May 31, 2023, addressed to payment solution service providers seen by Daily Sun, the central payment gateway in the country stated that it was reducing its fees to drive financial inclusion and support innovation.
The document which was signed by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Premier Oiwoh, and the Executive Director, Business Development, Ngover Ihyembe-Nwankwo, read, “We are delighted to inform you that the board and management of Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Plc has approved a further reduction in the transaction processing fees on NIBSS Instant Payment from N5 to N3.75k effective July 1, 2023.
In line with our commitment to drive financial inclusion and support innovation, we are also embarking on a volume-driven discount regime to complement this fee reduction and further details will be communicated in due course.”
The NIBSS enables financial transfers in the country, and the NIP is what ensures that anyone can get a transferred sum instantly.
On its website, the NIBSS stated, “NIBSS Instant Payments is an efficient person-to-person; a person-to-business; business-to-business funds transfer service that guarantees instant value to beneficiaries.”
Currently, banks charge a minimum of N10 as NIP charges. This move came on the back of a recent surge in electronic transaction volumes following increased dependence on the channel and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) naira redesign policy. According to the NIBSS, cashless transactions increased by 44.84 per cent to N126.73 trillion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023 from N87.49 trillion in the corresponding period of 2022.
Reacting to the development, the Managing Director/Chief Business Officer, Optimus by Afrinvest, Ayodeji Ebo, said, “I think this is a positive one and expected because volume has continued to increase in terms of increasing adoption of electronic payment. This will encourage more people to come on board and help CBN achieve its financial inclusion target.
This is an open market and if some banks not do not comply, people will move to other banks that will slash their fee and so I feel that this will give room for them to adjust their charges”.
For his part, a stockbroker who pleaded for anonymity, said the new price will not be enough to lure people who will be using the NIP channel and noted that some banks may not also comply.
“The truth is banks are greedy and if they do not have the information from CBN directly, then it is possible to comply because banks are known to be afraid of the CBN’s hammer other than government agencies”, he said.