The Nation Newspaper

Tag: payment

  • CBN grants payment solution service approval to Cellulant

    CBN grants payment solution service approval to Cellulant

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued an approval in principle to Cellulant Nigeria Limited to operate as a Payment Solution Service Provider in Nigeria having satisfied the stringent requirements of the CBN.

    This approval makes Cellulant one of the Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSP) in Nigeria. PSSPs are the companies that make up the underlying e-Payment infrastructure in Nigeria. Banks, Online Merchants, payment processors, merchants, state-governments and consumers connect to PSSPs to meet their electronic payment needs.

    Cellulant is the provider of the Tingg Payment Service & AgriKore Customer Relationship Management (CRM) service that is used by Governments, private sector companies, farmers, merchants in Nigeria & the rest of Africa, Asia to ensure end to end electronic payments in Agriculture and other consumer facing value chains.

    Cellulant’s payment solution is underpinned by highest global security standards. The solution is ISO/IEC 27001& PCIDSS certified and all records are backed up on a blockchain ledger which ensures that accounts cannot be hacked, and records cannot be changed.

    The co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cellulant Nigeria, Bolaji Akinboro, stated that this approval will enable the company to extend its payment solutions across all spectrum of Nigeria’s payment system ecosystem.

    According to him, ‘‘Cellulant is a critical component of Nigeria Payments system and a key player in delivering the payments systems vision 2020”.

  • Ecobank deepens digital payment

    Ecobank deepens digital payment

    Ecobank has partnered with Facebook and MasterCard to deliver seamless, digital payments to small businesses via the Facebook Messenger platform. With this development, micro-merchants will be able to receive instant payments using the QR technology.

    This Messenger experience will launch in Nigeria, where MasterCard will pilot a new Masterpass QR both to help business owners move beyond cash transactions to accepting QR payments.

    With Ecobank’s presence in 33 African countries, the pilot in Nigeria is the beginning of a larger plan to include more businesses in Africa into the digital economy. Access to digital payments will help businesses expand to new markets, and unlock financial services and products that empower them to grow.

    Group Executive, Consumer Banking, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Patrick Akinwuntan, said this initiative is in line with the bank’s financial inclusion strategy to reach the underserved and unbanked in the society.  He noted that the partnership will further position Ecobank as a major enabler of digital payments across Africa and reinforce its goal to serve 100 million Africans by 2020.

    In his words: “In line with our goal to serve 100 million Africans by end of 2020, Ecobank is delighted to collaborate with Facebook and MasterCard to enable underserved and unbanked micro-merchants have the opportunity to open an Ecobank Xpress account within minutes and begin to receive instant payments using Ecobank Masterpass on the Facebook Messenger platform.”

  • ‘How govt stalls payment of N570b subsidy claims’

    The Federal Government has stalled the process of paying marketers N570 billion subsidy claims by refusing to release a communiqué on the meetings between it and the marketers.

    The Executive Secretary, Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA), Mr. Femi Adewole, who disclosed this to The Nation said the marketers, some weeks ago, had meetings with Dr Ibe Kachikwu and Alhaji Abba Kyari, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and the Chief of Staff to President Muhammad Buhari, respectively on the issue, adding that the government was yet to release a communiqué on the issue.

    The marketers owed include Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), DAPPMA, and Independent Petroleum Products Importers (IPPIs).

    According to him, Federal Government’s failure to release a communiqué stating the outcome of the meetings vis-a-vis the method of payment of the subsidy claims, has put marketers in the dark on the issue.

    Adewole said: “The communiqué is expected to provide impetus on the direction, which the marketers must take to recover their debts. It contains the resolutions of the government on the issue of payment of the subsidy claims, a development, which would help the marketers to know how and when to get their money back.

    “We (marketers) are waiting for the government to bring out the communiqué, which would show us the next line of action. We would not know what to do to recover our debts, until that is done.”

    Shedding more light on the issue, he said the money grew to N570billion from N394billion, due to unsavoury developments in the macro economy.

    ”Initially, marketers were being owed $2billion, by the Federal Government. That was when they imported fuel at the rate of N197 to a dollar. But with the exchange rate now sitting at N285 to a dollar (official rate), it implied that there is exchange rate differentials of $617.5 million to be paid by the government. This translates to N176billion. Altogether, marketers were being owed $2.6billion, including exchange rate differentials of $617.5million,” he added.

    He urged the government to create an enabling environment for the marketers to operate in the industry by paying the subsidy arrears owed them.

    On importation, he said marketers need to know whether the Federal Government would subsidise the cost of obtaining foreign exchange or not, adding that the idea would enable marketers know the price they would sell fuel in the country.

  • DisCos lament delay of N100b subsidy, others payment

    DisCos lament delay of N100b subsidy, others payment

    •Call for cost effective tariffs

    The power distribution companies (DisCos) are seeking the payment of N100 billion subsidy owed them  by the Federal Government to improve their infrastructure.

    The firms said the government, during the privatisation in 2013,  promised them N100 billion to cushion the effects of increased tarrifs on their operations, adding that four years later the government was yet to fulfill its promise.

    They also seeking the payment of debts owed by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

    The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) Executive Director, Research and Development, Mr Sunday Oduntan, said the development became necessary to change obsolete infrastructure.

    He said the DisCos inherited  old facilities from  defunct  Power Holding Company of Nigeria(PHCN), adding that the problem was affecting the distribution of electricity in the country.

    He said the payment of  the subsidy and debts  would help the firms in strengthening their operations.

    He accused the government of breaching some of the agreements it reached with the investors during privatisation, urging it to fullfill its promises to move the sector forward.

    Oduntan said: “By not paying the N100 billion subsidy, MDAs debts among fulfilling other things, it promised, the government has breached the terms of the agreement binding the investors and the Bureau of Public Enterprises(BPE)/Federal Government.’’

    ANED, Oduntan said, has pleaded with the government to assist in building infrastructure for operators in the sector, adding that the government was yet to attend to salient issues that affecting the industry.

    He said the DisCos are facing problems, such as poor collection, illiquidity, shortage of meters and other equipment, adding that the development has resulted in low optimal performance for energy distributors.

    Shortfall, Oduntan said, has become a permanent feature in the industry, as operators across the value chain are experiencing one losess or the other.

    The ANED’s director said power firms are either experiencing technical or operation loss, stressing the problem has reached a level, which they (power firms) cannot continue to bear.

    He said the DisCos are unable to recoup their investments as their customers (individual and government) were not ready to pay for the energy consumed.

    He explained that despite that the DisCos charge customers N30.80 per kilowatts of electricity instead of N80, customers do not pay their bills promptly, adding that this was frustrating the companies’ efforts to  invest.

    He said any increase in the generation of electricity would lead to a corresponding increase in the DisCos’revenue.

    He said DisCos were better off when there is an increase in power generation, pleading that the government  fulfill its promise, by fashioning modalities for the power generation companies (GenCos) to increase their output.

    He said when GenCos increased their output, electricity supply would increase.

    Oduntan also lamented the shortage of gas which, according to him,  has crippled operations in the sector. He blamed attacks on gas  pipelines for this problem.

    Another area, which Oduntan said, is a source of concern to the power firms is energy theft.

    He said the rate, at which consumers steal electricity, was becoming alarming, stressing that  those who engage in this were yet to stop, despite power fines to impose fine on them, among other penalities.

    He said the DisCos has over  five million customers, when they took over the assets of PHCN in 2013 and that if the 11 utilities’firms were metering, about 100,000 customers yearly, they would have served them in five years.

    He said estimated billing was introduced as an interim measure to assist consumers to use electricty and pay for it.

    On the complaints against estimated billings, Oduntan said it was not introduced by the DisCos to make money, but to assist customers to pay.

    Efforts to get the Nigerian Electricity             Regulatory Commi-ssion (NERC) to comment on the issue proved abortive, as a text message sent to its Public Relations Officer, Mike Faloseyi, was not replied.

  • Kano spends N9b monthly on salary payment, says Gov

    Kano spends N9b monthly on salary payment, says Gov

    The Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, has said his administration spends N9 billion monthly on payment of workers’ salaries.

    He said the feat was achived at a time most state governments have not been able to pay salaries of their workers as a result of the economic situation in the country.

    He spoke at the end of a  workshop for financial journalists held in Kano with theme: ‘The Role of Nigeria Banking Sector: Opportunities, Challenges and the Way forward’.

    The workshop was organised by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) in Kano recently.

    He disclosed that despite being the largest state in terms of population growth, the administration has not owed workers, and all public servants “in the state and local government usually receive their salaries between 26th and 28th of every month.”

    Ganduje who was represented at the event by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Usman Alhaji Usman, also expressed the willingness of the state to embrace public-private partnership (PPP) to revive the ailing cotton industry in the state.

    “We need public private investment in order to revive the cotton industry,” he said.

    He disclosed that the state has invested N10.18 billion in the construction of the Murtala Mohammed road bridge as well as N3.59 billion in the construction of the Bukavu underpass, among others.

    He explained that in the area of environment, the administration was doing enough to address certain challenges. He also listed some of his achievements. Ganduje said: “We have so many empowerment programmes ongoing in the state and they involve market women, and farmers. The Masu Shayi (tea sellers) empowerment is an effort from the government to improve first, the environment. During the inauguration of the empowerment programmes, there was a lecture on the cleaning of their environment and making the tea in good environment.

  • Pensioners urge Fed Govt to reintroduce gratuity payment

    Pensioners, under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS),  have called on the Federal Government to reintroduce the payment of gratuity to retirees      .

    The  union accused the government of   shying away from its responsibility as there’s no provision in the Pension Reforms Act that outlawed the payment of gratuity to pensioners.

    The Sector Chairman, Nigeria Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme, Comrade Sylva Nwaiwu, stated this at  its second post inaugural congress of the union in Abuja.

    He  called  for a review of their entitlements, saying the Federal Government is indebted to pensioners, who retired under the CPS. He said they will continue to fight for their gratuity within the ambit of the law.

    His words: “Gratuity is a right to any public worker who retires from service after 10 to 35 years. The introduction of the CPS was to address the burden of monthly pension liabilities on the government and not that of gratuity. Hence, there is no section of the Pension Reform Act, before and as amended by the 2014 pension reform act that explicitly removes gratuity as a legitimate right to retirees.

    Naiwu said in  the old Defined Benefit Scheme,  government pays gratuity to the retirees and thereafter continues to pay monthly pension, whereas in the CPS, government is restricted to the payment of gratuity, while the monthly pension of retirees accrues from the combined contributions by government and the workers.

    He said from the inception of the CPS, the government has tactically ignored the legitimacy of this important factor in the engagement agreement, without any legal or constitutional justification, thus short changing the CPS retirees.

  • FirstBank’s payment card issuance hits 10m

    FirstBank’s payment card issuance hits 10m

    First Bank of Nigeria Limited has been named the first financial institution in Nigeria and the West-Africa sub-region to issue 10 million cards to customers across the country. This makes FirstBank the second bank in Africa to achieve this feat.

    The groundbreaking accomplishment is reminiscent of a similar milestone achieved two years ago when the Bank in December, 2015 and May 2016, was named the first financial institution in the country to achieve sustained alternative channels transaction volumes of 100 million transactions in December 2015 and May 2016. FirstBank has sustained its edge in payment card issuance with its Instant issuance/Instant activation technology, which was pioneered about 7 years ago. This has also informed the Bank’s consistency in maintaining the highest active Card ratio in the industry.

    According to the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Adesola Adeduntan “delivering this feat is a testament to the Bank’s brand promise to put our customers first and continuously improve our business to serve them better”.

    “We can attest that our customers have become more technology savvy and we will continue to encourage this attitude with our commitment to world class service delivery”.

  • Fashola, stakeholders focus on debts payment, supply growth

    Fashola, stakeholders focus on debts payment, supply growth

    The 19th ministerial meeting of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing with operators of the power sector, has held with a focus on payment of debts owed the power sector by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), and legacy debts inherited from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), and power supply growth.

    It held in Lagos with a communique focusing on identifying, discussing, and finding practical solutions to critical issues facing the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

    The operators agreed to encourage the promotion of true story of hope in the sector, based on ongoing projects and efforts to improve the power sector, and limit inaccurate and alarmist comments in the media about the power sector.

    The agreement was necessitated by an earlier statement by the Power Minister, Babatunde Raji Fashola.

    Fashola had expressed dissatisfaction with a statement made by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Egbin Power Plc, Mr. Dallas Peavey, saying that Peavey’s claim that the Federal Government owes Egbin N125 billion and that Egbin had spare 700 megawatts (mw), which could not be evacuated due to the inability of the Transmission Company to wheel it were inaccurate.

    The Minister said with that statement Peavey was working against national interest, noting that Peavey  was inciting other generation companies (GenCos) not to comply with grid codes and regulations made pursuant to the Electric Sector Power Reform Act of 2005, which prescribed frequency levels of operation for power generating companies.

    Fashola also reminded operators at the meeting about the Payment Assurance Guarantees to the generation companies, as well as the verification of MDAs’ debts, which have been reported as part of the government’s plan to resolve liquidity challenges in the power sector.

    The communique noted that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) was commended for its new mini-grid regulation, which has yielded new projects with the inauguration of a new 20kw project in Kwali Local Government Area in the Federal Capital Territory, with a plan to power 145 households and five businesses by Haven Hills Synergy Limited, and another to be completed shortly in Kano State. The Minister encouraged investors and developers to cooperate with NERC to fast-track the implementation of the regulation, with the hope that the private sector increases capacity to distribute the over 6,000mw available for distribution.

    The report also showed that Eko and Yola Electricity Distribution Companies recorded 100 per cent payment performance to the market operator for service providers, and the meeting was encouraged to make payment for transmission and other services provided in good time.

    The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) said it has completed Magboro connection project, and also announced the progress in projects at Ugwuaji, Egbema, Okija, Omotosho and Olorunsogo host communities, expected to be completed by December this year.

    The NDPHC listed vandalism as  a major challenge to the progress of projects in Afam – Ikot Ekpene axis, and encouraged the public to end vandalism. TCN also announced the completion of rehabilitation works at Omotosho plant in line with planned reconnection of the communities.

    At the meeting were NERC, GenCos, distribution companies (DisCos), the TCN, Gas Companies (GasCos) and other government agencies such as the NDPHC, the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET), Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO) and Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), responsible for the regulation and development of the electricity industry as well as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

  • ‘Fed Govt begins payment of N200b salary arrears, allowances’

    The Federal Government will this month begin payment of unpaid salary arrears and allowances of public servants

    Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) President, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, said the payment of the money, which is over N200 billion, excluding pension, would commence from this month.

    “Recently, we wrote a protest letter to the National Assembly and all the parties involved which include the organised labour, Head of Service, Labour Minister, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate President.

    “The meeting was successful and I am happy to announce that the payment will commence as from this September.

    “I commend the National Assembly, most especially the Senate President for their timelyintervention,” Kaigama said.

    He, however, condemned the delay in the constitution of the 29-member National Minimum Wage Committee and warned the government not to stress the patience of workers beyond limit. He said the minimum wage implementation should be holistic and not selective.

    “You are aware that the issue of minimum wage is very topical. While there was a pronouncement to constitute the committee, they have requested for our list which we have send, therefore the committee need to be inaugurated so that the process can go on.

    “We condemned the delay to constitute the 29-member committee of National Minimum Wage for the country.

    “The Federal Government should not take the patience of workers beyond limit as the wage structure is no longer tenable when viewed against the economic reality on the ground,” Kaigama added.

  • Community insists on pre-paid meters or no payment

    Residents of Okunola community in Mosan/Okunola Local Council Development Area of Lagos State have vowed to resist outrageous electricity bills and called on the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, (IKEDC), to provide them pre-paid meters without delay.

    Speaking through the Duro-Olaleru Crescent Community Youth Development Association, the residents said outrageous bills were slammed on them without regular power supply.

    A community leader, Mr. Joshua Faboye said the community needs pre-paid meters and constant electricity supply, adding that some tenants had packed out of his house because of power failure and crazy bills leaving him with no choice other than to use rent collected from new tenants to pay outstanding bill.

    He said: ” When they were charging us about N750 for electricity consumed the Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, warned the electricity distribution companies not to issue bills to consumers if pre-paid meters were not installed, but IKEDC did not obey the instruction.’’

    Faboye lamented that the exorbitant bill has negatively affected businesses and social lives of the people living in the area.

    “I am a retiree, all the money I generated from my house I give it to IKEDC because tenants will pack out. Immediately they pack out the new tenant rents will be used to pay IEC bill. If they don’t give us pre-paid meters, they should not to give us bill.

    Another member of the community, Mr Olu Toyin complained that the IKEDC gave preferences to a nearby community.

    “Ever since the company was privatized we have not been seeing the best of them. Where I live, IKEDC distributed pre-paid meters from Iyana Ipaja, Egbeda and Alabata Streets. They stopped there to jump to Okunola and moved to Abule Odu to distribute the meters. We have gone to their office to complain all to no avail.

    “They bring crazy bills like N20,000 and N50,000. There is even a  house that is owing up to N1,000,000 which I think is impossible and because they are not running any factory there. In my house, I paid a sum of N10,000 every month, we are pleading to them to bring the pre-paid meter so we can pay for what we are consuming.

    The spokesman of IKEDC, Felix Ofolue however said the affected consumers have not been abandoned saying: “We have not abandoned them. Everyone knows the current economic situation of the country and harsh business environment which has also affected not just IKEDC but other electricity distribution companies across the country. Even if we have the resources to procure pre-paid meters, we still have to factor in the cost of engaging technical personnel to install them. In spite of the challenges, we have been installing the meters in phases and as we speak, we have installed the meters in places like Idimu and Government Reservation Area (G.R.A) in Ikeja. The residents of the affected community should exercise patience and we shall get to their area soon.

    ‘Concerning the issue of crazy bills, we have a way of monitoring power supply and consumption and this we do by installing a metering device inside transformers in several communities. Through this, we are able to monitor the consumption of power supplied and bill consumers.The only challenge we are having is that of electricity thieves which has rubbed off on genuine consumers. To this end, I want to urge residents to be vigilant and expose those who are stealing electricity, not for prosecution but to ensure that they are properly billed.’’