The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it will ensure that banks are equipped with sophisticated ICT fraud detectors to check frauds through electronic payment. Mr. Tunde Lemo, the CBN Deputy Governor, Operations, made this known at a seminar on cash-lite economy for banks executives in Lagos.

Lemo said that CBN was aware that frauds would now move from the physical or combat nature to the electronic space. According to him, “CBN is rating the IT standards to ensure that we have secured transactions in the electronic payment system.

I can assure the public that we would deal with possible areas of pressures and ensure that we nip the e-payment fraud activities in the bud. CBN is making policies on the need to prescribe serious punishment for fraudsters who will be involved in fraud in the e-payment system,” he said.

Lemo said that CBN was trying to encourage a change in the people’s lifestyles by reducing the amount of physical cash they go about with. He said that customers that violated CBN rules on deposit or cash withdrawal in the new dispensation should be ready to bear the consequences.

“We believe that if you move large amount of money into the electronic channels, part of the challenges the banks are having in the hands of armed robbery would reduce. We understand that cyber fraud possibility is there.

I could recall that when we deployed ATM machines, initially, we had challenges. But, we set up ATM fraud committee that succeeded in reducing the fraud incidence by 99 per cent,” he said. Lemo said that CBN had expanded the scope of the committee by widening its level of responsibility. He said that there would be a committee of CBN governors to deal with cyber frauds in our society.

MFBs express dissatisfaction over lack of support from commercial banks

The Lagos State Chapter of the National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB) has expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of financial support from some commercial banks. Mr Olufemi Babajide, NAMB chairman in Lagos State, made this known at the annual general meeting of the association in Lagos on Thursday.

He said that the commercial banks had stopped supporting them in terms of providing loans and in honouring their third party cheques.

A third party cheque is a cheque issued by bank customer to another person to draw on his behalf.  Babajide said that the development was a challenge militating against effective bank-customer relationship in the sub-sector. He said it was only one commercial bank was lending to operators in the sub-sector and he had informed the Central Banks of Nigeria (CBN) so that something could be done.

Babajide said the funds provided by promoters and shareholders of microfinance banks were not adequate to reach out to “the active poor” for businesses. “We, as a matter of urgency, need funding from the CBN, Lagos State Government and other local and international fund providers. Funds meant for poverty alleviation in any of the tiers or agency of government should be disbursed through microfinance banks.

“This will ensure effective channelling, monitoring and payment,” he said. The NAMB Chairman called on the Federal Government to establish special courts to prosecute defaulters of bank loans. He said that the association had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with some magistrate courts and some police stations on the matter. We agreed that the debtors will be persecuted within 30 days,” Babajide said