CBN receives Award for Galvanising Financial Inclusion

Tue, Apr 23, 2019 | By publisher


Business

The Central Bank of Nigeria is honoured for driving financial inclusion in the country which stood at 63.2% in 2018 compared to 43.3 percent in 2010

 

By Maureen Chigbo

 

THE Central Bank of Nigeria has been honoured for being in the forefront of driving financial inclusion in the country. The award was given to the CBN.

The award was handed to the CBN by Evans Woheren, founder and chairman, Digital Africa Global Consult Ltd and Compumetrics Solutions who chaired the two-day Future Banking Tech West Africa summit which started Tuesday, April 23, to end on Wednesday, April 24 in Lagos.

Prior to receiving the award on behalf of the CBN, Paul Oluikpe, assistant director who represented Mudashiru Olaitan, director, Development Finance Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, said: “that the headline financial inclusion stood at 63.2% based on the 2018 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria Survey report by EFInA as against 46.3% in 2010.”

Realnews reports that the Central Bank was given the award because of the initiatives it introduced to drive financial inclusion in the country.

To reach the 2020 target of 80 percent inclusion rate, the Central Bank of Nigeria is aggressively pursuing the initiatives, which include regulating and facilitating the development of digital financial services in Nigeria through its Payment Systems Management Department.

It has launched guidelines for the licensing and regulation of Payment Service Banks, PSBs. The objective is to leverage on existing platforms to facilitate high-volume and low-value transactions in basic financial services in a secure technology-driven environment.

There is the implementation of the Shared Agent Network Expansion Facility, SANEF, and Bank Verification Number, BVN, enrolment.  Under SANEF, a total of 500,000 agent networks will be established to offer basic financial services such as cash-in, cash-out, funds transfer, bill payments, airtime purchase, and government disbursements amongst others.

There is the upward revision of minimum capital requirements for microfinance banks to promote their soundness. The new minimum capital requirements takes immediate effect for new applications while existing microfinance banks are required to fully comply with effect from April 1, 2020. This will address the issues of inadequate capital base and generally boost the capacity of MFBs to play their key role in providing financial services to MSMEs and engendering financial inclusion.

Also there is the implementation of the National Financial Literacy Framework, NFLF. The framework provides a comprehensive blueprint for the development and implementation of financial literacy programs across the various sectors. It aims to increase awareness and understanding of financial products and services, with the ultimate goal of increasing sustainable usage amongst Nigerians.

The implementation of the Financial Education Strategy, FES, provides coherent, institutionally coordinated and collaborative approach to financial education delivery in support of enhanced financial literacy levels and ultimately the financial capability of the highly excluded segments such as women, Northern states and those in rural areas.

Another initiative is the implementation of Consumer Protection Framework, CPF. The framework provides a guide for effective regulation of consumer protection practices of Financial Institutions, FIs, under the regulatory purview of the CBN.

There is also collaboration between the Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending, NIRSAL, and the Nigerian Postal Service, NIPOST, to set up a National Microfinance Bank. This bank which is to be technologically driven would leverage on NIPOST’s presence in the 774 Local Government Areas, LGA’s of the federation and reach to rural sectors of the population. It will serve as a channel for the disbursement and monitoring of CBN’s intervention funds to farmers and businesses at the grassroots.

The microfinance bank has commenced operations with seven centres and will increase that number dramatically within the year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

– Apr. 23, 2019 @ 06:20 GMT |

 

 

 

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