The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it has changed transaction switching services guideline to deepen e-payments in the country.

The apex bank says the key change came with the amendment of Section 2.6.3 of the guidelines relating to the Nigeria Central Switch (NCS) service.

The amendment is contained in a recent circular obtained by Technology Times signed by Dipo Fatokun, Director, Banking and Payment System Department at CBN.

[quote font=”georgia” font_size=”22″ font_style=”italic” align=”left” arrow=”yes”]CBN says the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) shall immediately communicate the Application Programming Interface (API) and other specifications of all its products to all banks and other licensed operators, including switches, mobile money operators and payments services providers.[/quote]Section 2.6.3 of the Guideline which stipulates that “the NCS shall not own or promote any card business or retails products and shall be run in accordance with international best practice,” is now amended to read as follows: “The NCS shall be run in accordance with international best practice.”

CBN says the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) shall immediately communicate the Application Programming Interface (API) and other specifications of all its products to all banks and other licensed operators, including switches, mobile money operators and payments services providers.

According to CBN, the amendment comes as part of its effort to strengthen the electronic payment system landscape in Nigeria, noting that it took cognisance of the need for a competitive environment while promoting shared services and innovation.

As the Nigeria Central Switch, NIBSS is responsible for the interoperability between the various players in the financial system. Interoperability involves the ability of the various players Banks, Mobile Payment Operators, Non-Banking Financial Institutions, Payment Terminal Providers, Card Acquirers, Government Institutions etc., and their customers to send, receive and process funds, documents and other instruments electronically through the NCS, serving as the common channel.