A major landmark achievement had been made in the nation's e-payment system, following the completion of the Nigeria Central Switch (NCS) project by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), a body set up in 1993 by the Bankers Committee. With this development, all payment cards issued by banks in Nigeria will be accepted on all acceptable devices deployed in the country.

Speaking on Tuesday in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of NIBSS, Paul Lawal, said the completion of the project which started in 2004 will impact positively on the nation's economy, stressing that cardholders will now enjoy tremendous freedom to use their cards in a safe and secure manner in any place in the country, while delivering substantial benefits to all stakeholders.

Lawal disclosed that four banks and the major scheme operators in the country which include: Interswitch, e-transact, Valuecard and Chams are already connected to the project, stating that a globally renowned company in the area of electronic payment system technologies, ACI Worldwide Incorporated, is the technical partner. He listed NCS' benefits as: direct and immediate gains to the economy by providing great savings in foreign exchange, and also, banks and other players in the payment industry will rely on NCS while concentrating in their respective core functions.