The Central Bank of Nigeria today officially unveiled the Nigerian National Domestic
Card Scheme - AFRIGO, in conjunction with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement
Systems (NIBSS) Plc, the Bankers Committee, and other financial ecosystem
stakeholders. Afrigo card is operated by AfrigoPay Financial Services Limited
(AFSL), a national domestic card scheme duly licensed by the Central Bank of
Nigeria.
The Nigerian National Domestic Card Scheme is a robust in-country scheme
tailored to address the specific requirements of Nigeria’s payment industry and
provide innovative offerings to empower Africa’s payment ecosystem. With the
implementation of this scheme, the industry will reap benefits which include
improved transaction security, data sovereignty, better pricing opportunities,
interchange fee reduction, reduced demand for FX and less pressure on the Naira
whilst developing local skills in the card and payment space. Other advantages include a boost to financial inclusion,
value retention, flexibility not to mention it is a source of national pride.
Speaking during the event, the Governor of the Central Bank of
Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele expressed the central bank’s commitment to
ensuring a secure national payment system in Nigeria. He stated ‘Millions of
Nigerians are still unable to make use of payment cards to consummate
transactions. We can no longer neglect the vast majority of Nigerians whose
daily payment needs are micro payments. We need to capture them in national
statistics, to further understand their transaction dynamics and properly
target interventions.’ Indeed, Afrigo presents an opportunity to integrate the
informal segments of our economy and bring more Nigerians into the formal
financial services system.
The Deputy Governor, Financial Systems Stability, Central Bank of
Nigeria & Chairman, NIBSS PLC, Mrs. Aishah Ahmad enthused ‘Today is a
strategic turning point for payments in Nigeria and a source of deep national
pride. Afrigo is Africa’s most promising domestic card scheme given the rapid
growth of electronic payments in Nigeria, the continent’s most populous nation.
It is a monumental development for several reasons, not in the least is the
fact that it gives us sovereignty over our data, saves cost for the industry,
and presents a new vista of opportunities for the card business”. In her
presentation, she further detailed the rationale behind the name Afrigo – which
represents the continents ethnic diversity combined with progress, empowerment
and inclusiveness laced with our predominant Nigerian green.
Furthermore, the MD of NIBSS, Premier Oiwoh, highlighted the key
benefits of the scheme to Nigerians. According to him, “one of the major values
of the scheme is the reduced operating cost as well as other benefits such as a
secured platform, loyalty scheme, credit cards, and virtual cards amongst others”.
The launch of the Nigeria National Domestic Scheme will present a
new payment era in the Nigerian payment ecosystem and unveils the unique
opportunities presented by the Nigerian financial industry.
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