Unified Payments Services Limited, Nigeria's leading fintech service provider, has announced its target of achieving 99.9% payment terminal service delivery. This comes as the company becomes the second holder of the Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) license in the country.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had called for bids for the PTSA license through a public process published on January 5, 2024. After a thorough and transparent selection process, the CBN awarded the second PTSA license to Unified Payments Services Limited.
During a media briefing in Lagos over the weekend, Dr. Agada Apochi, the Managing Director and CEO of Unified Payments, outlined the company's future plans following the acquisition of the new license. He emphasized the company’s commitment to providing a seamless, simple, and effective ecosystem free from financial crimes and other market misconducts.
Apochi stated that since obtaining the PTSA license, Unified Payments has initiated plans to ensure smooth and secure transactions, with various operators already connecting to its PTSA platform. “As a PTSA license holder, we are enhancing national infrastructure. Our approach is not about competition but about being an enabler. Our PTSA platform is designed for collaboration, co-habitation, and the growth of payment services in Nigeria,” he remarked.
Explaining the role of Unified Payments as a PTSA, Apochi emphasized the company's role as an enabler, assisting various industry operators and service providers in offering their services in compliance with CBN’s policy and regulatory frameworks. The PTSA platform will help the CBN oversee Point of Sales (POS) transactions, thereby managing and reducing financial misconducts.
Apochi highlighted the previous challenges in the e-payment industry, particularly the lack of oversight over transactions. He explained, “When transactions failed, it was challenging to trace them. For example, if you withdraw money or make a purchase and the money doesn’t appear in the seller’s account, it was hard to determine where the transaction failed. With the PTSA license, all online transactions must go through the PTSA, making it easier to trace and ensuring higher confidence in the e-payment industry.”
He assured that the new system would lead to quicker resolution of issues. Unified Payments is committed to maintaining 99.9% service availability, which will significantly reduce the need for fund reversals caused by service failures. “If the service is available and transactions don’t fail, then we won’t need to discuss fund reversals. Addressing service failures is our priority with this new license,” Apochi stated.
With only two PTSA license holders in Nigeria, Apochi called for collaboration among industry stakeholders to enhance the effectiveness of payment services. He revealed that discussions are ongoing with the other aggregator to identify areas of collaboration to build a safer, more resilient ecosystem that meets the needs of various businesses using their platforms.
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