The
Nigerian National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and MasterCard today
announced at the World Economic Forum on Africa the roll-out of 13 million
MasterCard-branded National Identity Smart Cards with electronic payment capability as
a pilot program. The National Identity Smart Card is the Card Scheme under the
recently deployed National Identity Management System (NIMS). This program is
the largest roll-out of a formal electronic payment solution in the country and
the broadest financial inclusion initiative of its kind on the African
continent.
As part of the program, in its
first phase, Nigerians 16 years and older, and all residents in the country for
more than two years, will get the new multipurpose identity card which has 13
applications including MasterCard’s prepaid payment technology that will
provide cardholders with the safety, convenience and reliability of electronic
payments. This will have a significant and positive impact on the lives of
these Nigerians who have not previously had access to financial services.
The Project will have Access Bank
Plc as the pilot issuer bank for the cards and Unified Payment Services Limited
(Unified Payments) as the payment processor. Other issuing banks will include
United Bank for Africa, Union Bank, Zenith, Skye Bank, Unity Bank, Stanbic, and
First Bank.
The announcement was witnessed by
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the
Economy in Nigeria, who stressed the importance of the National Identity Smart
Card Scheme in moving Nigeria to an electronic platform. This program is good
practice for us to bring all the citizens on a common platform for interacting
with the various government agencies and for transacting electronically. We
will implement this initiative in a collaborative manner between the public and
private sectors, to achieve its full potential of inclusive citizenship and
more effective governance,” she said.
“Today’s announcement is the
first phase of an unprecedented project in terms of scale and scope for
Nigeria,” said Michael Miebach, President, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard.
“MasterCard has been a firm supporter of the Central Bank of
Nigeria’s (CBN)Cashless Policy as we share a vision of a world beyond
cash. From the program’s inception, we have provided the Federal
Government of Nigeria with global insights and best practices on how electronic
payments can enable economic growth and create a more financially inclusive
economy”.
Chris ‘E Onyemenam, the Director
General and Chief Executive of the National Identity Management Commission,
said “We have chosen MasterCard to be the payment technology provider for the
initial rollout of the National Identity Smart Card project because the Company
has shown a commitment to furthering financial inclusion through the reduction
of cash in the Nigerian economy.” He added “MasterCard has pioneered large
scale card schemes that combine biometric functionality with electronic
payments and we want to capitalize on their experience in this field to make
our program rollout a sustainable success for the country and for the
continent.”
“Access Bank’s involvement in
this project is testament to our ongoing efforts to expand financial inclusion
in Nigeria,” said Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, CEO of Access Bank. “The new identity
card will revolutionize the Nigerian economic landscape, breaking down one of
the most significant barriers to financial inclusion – proof of identity, while
simultaneously providing Nigerians with a world class payment solution”.
“Unified Payments is the foremost
transaction processor and pioneer of EMV processing and acquiring in Nigeria,
owned by leading Nigerian banks. We will use our expertise and experience to
guarantee the success of the project and ensure that the data of Nigerians are
protected. We look forward to working with other partners in delivering value
to all stakeholders’’, said Agada Apochi, Managing Director and CEO, Unified
Payments.
The
new National Identity Smart Card will incorporate the unique National
Identification Numbers (NIN) of duly registered persons in the country. The
enrollment process involves the recording of an individual’s demographic data
and biometric data (capture of 10 fingerprints, facial picture and digital
signature) that are used to authenticate the cardholder and eliminate fraud and
embezzlement. The resultant National Identity Database will provide the
platform for several other value propositions of the NIMC including identity
authentication and verification.
Thanks to the unique and
unambiguous identification of individuals under the NIMS, other identification
card schemes like the Driver’s License, Voters Registration, Health Insurance,
Tax, SIM and the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) will benefit and can all
be integrated, using the NIN, into the multi-function Card Scheme of the NIMS.
When fully utilizing the card as a prepaid payment tool, the cardholder can
deposit funds on the card, receive social benefits, pay for goods and services
at any of the 35 million MasterCard acceptance locations globally, withdraw
cash from all ATMs that accept MasterCard, or engage in many other financial
transactions that are facilitated by electronic payments. All in a secure and
convenient environment enabled by the EMV Chip and Pin standard.
Upon completion of the National
ID registration process, NIMC aims to introduce more than 100 million cards to
Nigeria’s 167 millioncitizens.
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