CBN Director to speak at FICAN annual confab

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Director, Banking & Payment Department, Mr. ‘Dipo Fatokun, will be the guest speaker at the 2014 Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) Annual Conference.

The conference holds from Saturday 20, September to Sunday 21, at the Peninsular Resort, Lekki-Epe Expressway, Ajah, Lagos.

Fatokun, who is at the centre of the cashless banking policy of the CBN, will be speaking on the theme: “E-Payment in Nigeria: Past, Present and Future.”

Other stakeholders expected at the event are Mr. Charles Ifedi, CEO, Verve International; Mr. Mac Atasie, Managing Director/CEO, Nextzon Business Services Limited; Mr. Chidi Umeano, Head of Shared Services, CBN; Mr. Dele Adeyinka, Vice-Chairman, Committee of e-Banking Industry Heads (CeBIH) and Mr. Sola Fanawopo, Editor-in-Chief, Financial Technology.

The event will also attract distinguished policy makers, leaders in the financial and civil rights groups, merchants, as well as corporate affairs managers in financial services sector, among others.

Stakeholders will also participate on e-payment demonstration and panel discussion that will highlight salient points on the e-payment policy implementation designed to change the face of banking in the country.

The CBN launched the cashless Nigeria project in Lagos State, in January 2012 and extended the policy to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abia, Anambra, Ogun, Kano and Rivers states in June 2013. It went national on July 1, 2014.

The policy was initiated against the backdrop of cash dominance in the payments system, a development, which encouraged the circulation of huge sums of money outside the banking system, which imposed huge currency management cost on the banks.

The policy was meant to ensure price stability through effective monetary policy, sound financial system and efficient payments system. It was a critical part of the payment system modernisation designed to promote the use of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of Sale (PoS) terminals, web payment, online transfers and even mobile money in banking transactions instead of relying on cash.

The conference presents an opportunity for a review of the e-payment policy of the apex bank and its impacts on the socio-economic development of the country.