CBN to conduct e-payment infrastructure audit

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that it will this year begin to conduct an e-payment infrastructure audit.

The move is part of measures to enhance a robust payment infrastructure in the country.

This comes as the banking sector regulator has placed 7,552 customer accounts on Bank Verification Accounts (BVN), following rising fraud and forgeries in the financial sector.

To achieve this, the CBN has to hire consultants for the audit as disclosed by Musa Jimoh, director, payment systems management department, CBN at the ongoing seminar for finance correspondents and business Editors in Calabar, Cross River State.

Represented by Adefuye Adeyemi, deputy director, payment system management department, CBN, he said the audit would give Nigeria the opportunity to benchmark its e-payment infrastructure with the international standards.

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“What kind of scalability do we need to put in place, that is what an audit will help us to achieve. It will help drive foreign direct investment,” he said.

He said Nigeria is moving towards cardless and other contactless payment options, including QR Codes, NFC, among others for seamless financial transactions in the country.

Earlier in keynote address, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the CBN noted that the total transaction in eNaira has risen to 1.4 million, which is about double the volume recorded in its first anniversary.

He highlighted the role of the country’s central bank digital (CBDC), known as eNaira in advancing the smart payment system.

“The outlook for the e-payment system in Nigeria is very good and provides huge opportunities for economic revival and growth,” Jimoh said.

Hope Moses-Ashike

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.