The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has mandated banks in the country to connect to the National Central Switch (NCS), on or before 14th May, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can reveal.
The central switch is to facilitate the exchange of value between financial service providers, merchants, their customers and other stakeholders.
The NCS which would be operated by Nigeria Interbank Settlement system would provide interconnectivity and interoperability amongst approved electronic funds transfer switch initiatives in Nigeria.
According to the Operational Rules and Regulations for the Nigeria Central Switch released by the CBN, “The Nigeria Central Switch is designed to provide interconnectivity and interoperability amongst approved EFT switch initiatives in Nigeria.”
But stakeholders in the ePayment space are saying interoperatability and capacity are no issues, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered.
“Interoperatability and capacity is not the issue, as there are few transactions on all switching platforms,” said Mitchel Elegbe, managing director, Interswitch, adding that banks will bypass the NCS, if not properly structured.
Also, the operational Rules and Regulations specify that the NCS provide vital retail payment statistics for tactical & strategic planning purposes and provide a mechanism for proactive detection of card frauds.
In addition, the NCS is to provide a central switch which integrates modules for accessing external content, transaction service networks, internal billing applications and related packages; provide seamless integration of the Nigeria retail payment system with the West African Monetary Zone retail payment plan and beyond and deploy a central switch network which complies with all relevant international standards.
Francis Ebuehi, managing director, Chams Switch said stakeholders must be involved in the policy and procedures of the National Central Switch. He said there must be strict adherence to professionalism built on the concept of separation of roles for a successful switch.
CBN Gives Deadline on Connection to National Central Switch
