The Association of Corporate Communication and Marketing Professionals in Banks (ACAMB) has called on banks to accelerate the adoption of digital payment solutions, particularly QR code payments, as part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s payment ecosystem and improve customer experience.
The call was made during a courtesy visit by ACAMB’s leadership to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc in Lagos, where both organisations discussed the future of digital payments, industry collaboration and effective communication during service disruptions.
Leading the ACAMB delegation, the association’s President, Jide Sipe, stressed the need for a unified platform through which banks can engage on key industry issues and communicate developments to the public with accuracy and speed.
According to him, such collaboration would enable stakeholders to exchange ideas, address challenges confronting the banking industry and ensure that accurate information reaches customers, particularly during periods of system outages.
Sipe noted that ACAMB has continued to engage major stakeholders across the financial services industry, including the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), to identify areas where the association can foster stronger collaboration and enhance stakeholder engagement.
He explained that recent disruptions to banking services highlighted the importance of coordinated communication, adding that ACAMB intends to champion a stakeholders’ conference that would bring together heads of corporate communications in banks and NIBSS to improve information sharing and crisis communication.
Responding, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIBSS, Premier Oiwoh, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to building a resilient and inclusive digital payment infrastructure capable of supporting Nigeria’s growing economy.
He said seamless, secure and efficient payment systems remain central to NIBSS’ mandate, noting that the organisation has consistently invested in technologies that enhance system stability, optimise customer experience and promote financial inclusion.
According to Oiwoh, since assuming office in 2019, NIBSS has introduced measures to improve system resilience by monitoring transaction volumes in real time and redistributing system loads to minimise service interruptions.
He described the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) platform as a landmark innovation that transformed account-based instant transfers in Nigeria and laid the foundation for the country’s digital payment ecosystem.
The NIBSS boss also highlighted the National Payment Stack (NPS), describing it as a next-generation payment infrastructure that enables secure real-time payments, supports cross-border transactions and expands financial inclusion across Nigeria and the African continent.
He maintained that the platform ranks among the world’s leading payment systems in terms of speed and efficiency, comparing its performance favourably with India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
Oiwoh further disclosed that NIBSS has continued to develop innovative solutions that promote interoperability among banks, deepen trust in digital payments and strengthen fraud prevention efforts in collaboration with law enforcement agencies, leading to several successful fraud investigations and arrests.
He also encouraged banks to embrace the Nigeria Quick Response (NQR) payment solution, describing it as a cost-effective and secure account-based platform that allows customers to complete transactions by simply scanning a merchant’s QR code with their banking applications.
According to him, the NQR platform offers instant settlement, immediate payment notifications, lower transaction costs and eliminates the need for expensive merchant infrastructure, as businesses only need to display a printed QR code.
He noted that the solution also reduces payment disputes and chargebacks while making digital transactions more convenient for both merchants and customers.
The discussions underscored the banking industry’s growing shift towards faster and contactless payment solutions, with ACAMB urging financial institutions to expand the deployment of NIBSS NQR-powered payment services across the country.
Oiwoh revealed that United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc is among the early adopters of the NQR platform, having onboarded all its Point-of-Sale (POS) merchants to enable customers complete payments through QR code scanning, even without physical debit cards.
Founded in 1996, ACAMB serves as the umbrella body for corporate communication and marketing professionals in Nigeria’s banking industry, promoting ethical standards, public confidence and positive engagement within the financial services sector across Nigeria and Africa.