The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, in collaboration with the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System, has introduced a professional certification programme on electronic payments.
The programme aims to bridge the knowledge gap in the financial services industry as payment technology innovations for business transactions become more demanding worldwide.
A statement on Wednesday to Financial Street by CIBN’s Head of Corporate Communication and External Relations, Nelson Olagundoye, disclosed.
According to the statement, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NIBSS, Premier Oiwoh, said the certification was introduced to codify Nigeria’s e-payments knowledge base, determine knowledge and work experience criteria required to recognise practitioners at beginners, intermediate and advanced levels.
He further explained that the programme would create a growth roadmap for fledgling e-payment workers, including the unemployed with a desire to make a career in the electronic payments ecosystem within the banking, payments, and financial technology industry in Nigeria.
“This professional certification programme will in no doubt evolve as a specialist practice in setting the standards for e-payment expertise in e-payments and financial technology profession,” Oiwoh added.
On his part, the CIBN Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, Seye Awojobi, said the certification’s introduction was timely given the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He explained that the programme, designed in an international outlook, was well-grounded in the local realities of the Nigerian e-payment ecosystem and captured the current dynamics and all aspects of the digital financial services’ practices.
“The objectives of the certification programme are to set the standards for e-payment expertise in Nigeria; foster a category of high-performing professionals in the industry and build a resilient, safe, and secured e-payment system in Nigeria,” Awojobi said.
The programme curriculum includes certified e-payment associate, for entry-level certification path for payment professionals; certified e-payment professional, for intermediate level certification path for qualified CePA; and certified e-payment specialist, for qualified CePP holder interested in the pursuit of a speciality path, he highlighted.
Awojobi also noted that to maintain a certification credential, e-payment practitioners must earn some re-certification credits over three years. Every certification will be valid for three years after its award.
