Tag: mobile payments platform

The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced that the transactions are taking off in the country.

According to a recent statement made by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the use of the financial institution’s mobile payments platform within that country has been gaining a great deal of ground.

The ease and convenience of the transactions have proven to be very popular in that part of Africa.

Dipo Fatokun, the director of the banking and payment system department at CBN, explained that mobile payments have been achieving a growing adoption rate in that nation. This announcement was made at the Mobile Money and Financial Inclusion: What’s the Next Big Thing day-long conference in Lagos, which was organized by the Brookings Institution of Washington D.C. and by Leeds Bryan International Limited.

It was also pointed out that as 4G internet service comes to Nigeria, this will only boost mobile payments use.

Fatokun indicated that CBN and mobile network operators had an ongoing agreement that made sure that mobile payments transactions could be maintained in a sustainable way, without hitches or outages. It was also indicated that as the country would soon be moving to 4G internet service, a broader network would be available from the current 3G in Nigeria.

In his statement, he added that “We in central bank on the issue of connectivity are at the last stage of an MoU signing with the Nigeria Communication Satelite (NICOMSAT) such that they would provide WIFI technology at various locations in Nigeria so that connectivity would be made easier.”

It was also explained by Fatokun that CBN has a focus on preventing transaction fraud in its mobile payments system through the use of an established electronic banking guideline which extends to transactions that occur over smartphones and tablets. He added that there are specifications for systems through which business must be conducted. It was also expressed that there are a number of technical details provided for how deployments can be made, and that smartphones do not have any specific security elements as is indicated by NCC, and that they would therefore not function over this channel.

Apple may be inching into mobile payments arena with iPhone upgrades

While Apple has not made any firm announcement concerning its future involvement in mobile payments, the company may have a major impact on that sector in the coming months. Wells Fargo has raised its projected price range for Apple stock this week, citing news that the famed technology company will become more flexible in its relationship with carriers of its iPhone devices. New technology that is expected to be introduced with the iPhone 5S is also creating some buzz and this technology could help boost the adoption of the already popular mobile device.

Fingerprint sensors could boost mobile security

Apple is expected to include fingerprint sensing technology in its iPhone 5S, which is likely to be released later this year. This technology comes from AethenTec, which was acquired by Apple somewhat recently. The company specializes in security technologies and its fingerprint scanner could make next generation iPhones significantly more secure than their predecessors. This added security could create more confidence among consumers and boost adoption rates, especially among those interested in mobile payments.

Apple to be more flexible with iPhone sales restrictions

Apple is also expected to relax the restrictions it has on iPhone sales, which will allow its partners to exhibit more flexibility in the device market. This may help Apple compete more effectively against other companies, such as Samsung, when it comes to mobile technology. Better security features may help Apple’s partners market the iPhone 5S to corporate customers — a market that has been held firmly by BlackBerry for several years.

Mobile payments may be in Apple’s future

Apple has been slow to warm to the concept of mobile payments in the past. Security concerns had caused the company to distance itself from NFC technology, which forms the backbone of most mobile payments platforms. Apple has been looking for an alternative to NFC and some rumors suggest that the company is developing its own mobile payments system for future iterations of its smartphones and tablets.