7th October, 2011
As a prelude to the commencement of a Cashless Lagos, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has appointed four manufacturers for the provision of Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminals for the Nigerian market.
A statement from the CBN issued by the Head of Corporate Communication, Alhaji Mohammed Abdulahid, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja.
It listed the names of the appointed manufacturers as PAX Technology, Bitel, Ingenico and VeriFone.
According to the statement, “they were selected after a thorough process by a committee comprising key stakeholders in the payments system value chain.
“The Bankers Committee is committed to deploying over 40,000 Point-Of-Sale terminals in Lagos by the end of December.
” This deployment is expected to create an enabling environment for the take-off of the new cash policy in Lagos State.”
The statement explained that the banks came together to negotiate the terms of operation with Point-of-Sale terminal manufacturers in order to reduce the costs and guarantee greater access to the terminals.
“Consequently, an attractive discount of about 30 per cent on terminals only has been negotiated with each of these manufacturers on behalf of the Industry.
“They are available to any terminal owner, acquirer, merchant, bank or other stakeholders wishing to participate in this arrangement.
” Other benefits negotiated include local after-sales support, extended warranties, training, and minimum requirements for stocking of spare parts and swap units, amongst other things,” it added.
The statement also quoted the CBN Deputy Governor Operations, Mr Tunde Lemo, as saying that the development was a welcomed idea as it showed the power of togetherness.
“This is a welcome development as it shows the benefits we can achieve when we do things collaboratively.
“The manufacturers are now willing to take the Nigerian market more seriously, and do what it takes to ensure customer satisfaction.
“They have already indicated willingness to customise their products in line with the specific requirements of the Nigerian market,” he said.
He added that with the recently licensed Payment Terminal Service Providers (PTSPs), Nigerian customers should expect a much more pleasant point-of-sale user experience.
Meanwhile, attractive discounts have been negotiated on standard pricing list for models expected to be in high-demand.
These include after-sales support, extended warranties, local presence and training, among others.
The selected manufacturers have offered to discuss buying back existing terminals in the Nigerian market that might not comply with the CBN guidelines, at a negotiated price to be determined between manufacturers and the sellers.
The manufacturers have also expressed commitment to resolve all problems affecting the existing terminals in the market within the next four months.
It urged the Terminal owners to formally document all existing issues within the next 30 days, and submit same to the manufacturer through their local representatives.
It also called on banks to begin to place orders for their terminals with the objective of ensuring that terminals were deployed at merchant locations ahead of the 1 January, 2012 kick-off date.