Nigeria Pushes for Financial Inclusion with Central Bank Releasing Payment Service Bank (PSB) License:
VERICASH Empowers the Full PSB Operations
Nigeria Pushes for Financial Inclusion
To promote financial inclusion, the Central Bank of Nigeria released a Payment Service Bank (PSB) license that promotes technology and digital platforms to drastically enhance financial services, for low-income earners and unbanked segments of Nigerian society through a secured technology-driven environment. Nigeria plans to achieve at least 80 percent financial inclusion by the year 2020, making the PSB license a real penetration tool of financial services and inclusions to help to serve about 41 million Nigerians whom are financially excluded according to the chairman of the board of Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFINA). VERICASH solution fully empowers PSB business with a complete digital solution that satisfies digital banking, digital financial services, and distribution channel through agency banking in addition to other PSBs business requirements in a single platform that is able to host and run multiple financial programs.
The Payment Service Bank (PSB) helps reinforcing financial inclusion in unbanked locations and rural areas through the utilization of electronic platforms, digital channels and agent network. PSB is a model of a bank providing various methods of payment: including direct debit, bank transfer, prepaid cards, and electronic wallets.The promoters of PSB provide most of the services that are offered by banks. PSB license is considered as a huge opportunity for telecommunications companies, banking agents, mobile money operators (MMOs), and FinTech companies in Nigeria. PSBs are allowed to offer only high-volume, low-value transactions in remittance services, micro-savings and withdrawal services. Encompassing a broad range of formal financial services asides savings, and is not limited to payments, insurance, and pension products and services, PSBs are beyond just maintaining a bank account and making payment. The PSBs can only make governmental investments by putting money in government securities, which are considered low-risk.
With a single Platform, VERICASH enables Payment Service Bank (PSB) to host and operate various accounts starting with mobile money accounts for a wide base of consumers under financial inclusion, up to Micro-saving accounts and even for higher segments supporting future plans for hosting complete functioning bank saving accounts and debit cards.VERICASH platform also offer various financial services customized to different segments of customer bases on multiple digital channels, directly to consumers or through agent/merchant networks. To offer a full PSB functions, VERICASH platform includes the following essential components: Consumer Digital Framework, Agent Digital Framework to unlock and manage access through all possible digital channels for consumers and agents as well as providing a robust agency management and monitoring tools, Real-Time Service Management Platform for building and managing all current and future digital services, Accounting System and Accounting Adapters for accessing all types of PSB supported accounts, Dynamic Integration framework for enabling seamless integration to various 3rd party accounting system and digital service providers and finally Monitoring and Reporting System functioning across the system for best understanding of PSB operations and for supporting management decisions.
CIT VERICASH — the mobile payment division of CIT Global— provides an innovative software platform that enables an ecosystem of collaborative mobile financial services empowering financial inclusion in emerging markets. CIT VERICASH is building up on CIT Global unique mix of expertise that is unmatched in the mobile services market. CIT Global is an international leading provider of innovative eCommerce and mCommerce software solutions and services delivering innovative and award-winning solutions to its clients in 45 countries.
Refrences
News CBN to License Payment Service Banks To Boost Financial Inclusion
News CBN moves to establish payment service banks
Article discuss Why Payment Service Banks might not impact Nigeria’s financial inclusion drive
MTN & PSB: MTN to acquire payment service banking license in Nigeria
Banks are worried they may lose customers to MTN