CBN directs banks, PSPs to process bulk payments on their platforms

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that all bulk payments must be processed on the platforms of banks and payment service providers (PSPs) for proper audit procedures and to enable more transparency.

This is contained in a statement signed by Musa Jimoh, payments system management department director at CBN, on Wednesday.

Bulk payment is a bank system used to make multiple transfers or transactions at one go, such as salary payment, direct debits, and dividends.

“Currently, originating banks and PSPs pass a single debit entry through the initiating customer’s account and multiple credits to beneficiaries without adequate records of the credit entries in their system. This distorts audit trail and hampers transparency,” the statement reads.

“In order to address this challenge, the CBN hereby directs that all end-to-end bulk payments or transfers shall henceforth be processed on the platforms of banks or PSPs for their customers with a detailed breakdown of the accounts that receive the credits retained the custody of the sender’s banks.

“All banks and PSPs are required to ensure full compliance with this requirement and all other payment system regulations.”

PSPs are third party companies that help businesses accept a wide range of online payment methods such as internet banking and e-wallets.

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