The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have established new costs saving digital platform known as National Microfinance Banks Unified Information Technology (NAMBUIT).

NDIC on Wednesday recommended that Microfinance banks on board their data onto the NAMBUIT platform on or before December 31, 2020.

NAMBUIT was jointly established by the CBN and the NDIC to stimulate digital financial services (DFS) in the sub-sector.

Joshua Etopidiok, NDIC director, Special Insured Institutions Department (SIID), gave the recommendation at the ongoing 2020 workshop for business editors and financial Correspondents organized by NDIC in Kaduna State.

He spoke on “Microfinance Banks and Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs) in Nigeria: an Assessment of Covid-19 Impact, Regulatory Response and Future Outlook”, as he sees enhanced capitalisation for MFBs and PMBs as the future outlook for the sector.

The CBN said the NDIC bankrolled the development of NAMBUIT to address cost of operation and assist MFBs to upscale in order to increase the financial in Nigeria.

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Etopidiok noted that discussion and collaboration with Interswitch to provide solutions for cards on PoS, and ATM eWallets and instant transfers was being perfected.

The NAMBUIT is built with user-friendly interface, flexible processing control logic to aid decision making. In addition, opportunity for large data to aid intelligent decision making, real-time interactions, automation at scale and deployment of artificial intelligence by bank’s management.

The director said the SIID catering for MFBs and PMBs contacted the National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB) and Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria (MBAN) assured them of its support while they are grappling with the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.

On the aggregate, he observed that the pandemic on the MFBs was minimal. He said the minimal impact on the MFBs was attributed to the fact that some MFBs had raised capital preparatory to meeting the deadline of April 2020, they had the required liquidity to do business during the lockdown.

Etopidiok noted the CBN’s directive to shift the first phase of MFBs recapitalisation from April 2020 to April 2022, as part of the regulatory response to Covid-19 pandemic impact on the sub-sector.

However, Taiwo Joda, managing director/CEO Accion Microfinance Bank Limited/Chairman National Association of Microfinance Banks, Lagos chapter (NAMBLAG), appealed to the regulators to further extend the deadline to 2023.
Etopidiok noted the appeal and said they would look into it.

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.

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