A call from CeBIH to banks on corporative competition in e-payment

One of the take homes from the annual retreat of the Committee of E-Banking Industry Heads (CeBIH) held recently was the need for deposit money banks and e-payment service providers to be more cooperative in their competition in the industry.

This the committee believed would help them maximize their potential for growth in the industry.

Established July 2009, CeBIH comprises of all heads of e-business/e-channels and cards services of all the 23 banks in Nigeria. The primary objective of the Committee is to promote electronic banking services in line with global best practices and serve as a forum for sharing ideas and experiences by the E-banking industry Heads.

Dele Adeyinka, who spoke at retreat said, “Our industry needs a strong culture of cooperative competition among the various stakeholders to enable it maximize its potential and opportunities while we collectively fight our battles and enjoy different levels of victory.

He explained that cooperative competition among stakeholders requires interactions and sharing ideas for the benefit of all, the Committee of e-Banking Industry Heads is prepared to chart the course of creating an enabling environment for the industry players to come together more frequently and rub minds on ways of moving the industry forward.

“This will be coming in the form of quarterly breakfast forums to review and appraise the performance in a previous quarter and set an agenda for the following quarter as well as other programs aimed at fostering collaboration in the industry.”

Speaking on the theme of the retreat, “Disruptive Technology and the future of Payments”,

Adeyinka noted that banks need to continuously evolve to remain competitive and relevant to consumers in view of the changes in the way individuals and businesses accept payment.

He said the payment industry has recently witnessed the entry of diverse nonbank digital players – both technology giants and start-ups who are presenting increased competition for banks.

“While these categories of entrants have generally not been major threats to the banking and payments industry in the past, the aggressive nature of the digital players,  the prominence of smartphones as a channel and rapidly evolving customer expectations have all made a difference in recent past. To maintain the customer relationships and stay relevant, there is a need for all stakeholders to respond to these changes with new strategies, capabilities, and operating models.

“It is becoming evident that the key to success in this digital world is to evolve continuously in order to remain competitive and relevant to consumers. The way in which individuals and businesses accept payment is quickly becoming the next battleground of innovation. Consumers are now surrounded by a wealth of technologies, he added. ”