VeriFone Cashes in on Nigeria's Cash-less Payments Initiative

Following the Central Bank of Nigeria's "Cash-less Lagos" initiative, VeriFone has received orders for 80,000 units of VX 520 payment system for banks and merchants hurrying to enable cash-less payments, the company said in a statement released today.

VeriFone said that the Central Bank expects 150,000 new payments systems to be deployed this year as a result of the initiative, which is meant to modernize Nigeria's payments systems for credit cards and newer mobile payments technologies. The Central bank is trying to update the country's payments systems to cut cash-handling costs as part of its goal of joining the world's top 20 economies by 2020, the statement noted.

The VX 520 is a countertop card reader system integrated for NFC and contact-less mobile payments. VeriFone touted the systems dual SIM capability that allows merchants to easily switch cellular networks to handle network connectivity issues that plague merchants in Nigeria.

"CBN's [Central Bank of Nigeria's] efforts to modernize the payment system to drive economic development sets a standard throughout Africa," said Nettles. "VeriFone expects these efforts to lead to greater demand for payment solutions in countries including Kenya, Ghana, and Ethiopia, among others."

[See Related: Moving Forward Mobile Payments]

Jonathan Camhi has been an associate editor with Bank Systems & Technology since 2012. He previously worked as a freelance journalist in New York City covering politics, health and immigration, and has a master's degree from the City University of New York's Graduate School ... View Full Bio