The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, said it has enhanced its collaborative efforts to significantly deal with activities of unlicensed entities.

The a Apex Bank said this has become necessary as some entities have continued to exploit access to information technology to engage in regulated activities without the appropriate licenses and authorisation.

Godwin I. Emefiele, Governor, of the Bank, while speaking at the 34TH seminar for Finance Correspondents and Business editors, themed, “Implementing a Robust Payment Architecture:     Prospects, Opportunities and Challenges” on Tuesday in 

Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria, stated that activities of fraudsters has continued to threaten the resilience of the payment platforms.

Though he said confidence of the public is impacted by these activities, but the collaborative effort between the Central Bank of Nigeria and other players in the industry is helping to curtail the nefarious activities of these fraudsters.

In response to the challenges posed by cyber threats, Emefiele, said the CBN has put in place the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) which consists of all relevant stakeholders, to proactively address challenges and safeguard the integrity of the e-payment channels.

It has also raised the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard which is mandatory for any entity that processes, stores/saves or transmits payment card data.

In addition he said that the Financial Industry Cybersecurity Fusion Centre currently serves as a sectoral Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) for the Nigerian Financial Services Industry.

Other Initiatives against cybersecurity and fraud in Nigeria put in place by the CBN, include: Cybercrime Acts’ enacted in 2021 to address National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy Endorsement of the SWIFT Sanction Screening Service & SWIFT Cross-border payments security (ISO20022 Standard) for banks.

Others are Risk-based Cybersecurity framework for Payment Service Providers (PSPs) and Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Enforcement of Two-factor Authentication(2FA) requirement on all electronic banking products

Enforced the Installation of Anti-Skimming Device on ATMs.

With these initiatives in place, Emefiele, said the CBN has demonstrated irrevocable commitment to ensuring the stability and safety of the Nigerian payment system. “Accordingly, we shall continue to deepen our oversight of the activities of operators in the payments system as well as ensure full compliance with regulations. In this regard, examiners and supervisors would continue to ensure that services delivered by participants meet required security standards.

“The Bank will also continue to adopt a collaborative approach to achieve minimal cybersecurity threats in the payments system. A holistic mechanism for addressing cybersecurity threats requires policy and operational actions by all stakeholders. As you are aware, effective January 2023, the Bank issued a Risk-Based Cyber-Security Framework and Guidelines for Other Financial Institutions, to ensure their operational resilience in the face of cyber-security threats.” he assured.

He further noted that this suite of initiatives have helped to open a vista of new opportunities in the payment ecosystem, adding, “With these revolutionary technological developments, the market has witnessed the deployment of new payment solutions. Artificial intelligence, quantum computing and contactless payments are some of the areas creating new opportunities for operators. The Payments System Vision (PSV) 2025, launched recently, also contains several recommendations aimed at driving implementation of some of the latest technologies to ensure the system’s resilience and safety.