Nigeria: Nigeria’s central bank says both merchant and consumer can now present QR Codes for payment

The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced a significant adjustment to the Quick Response (QR) Code Framework, allowing the usage of QR codes for payments in Nigeria to be either merchant-presented or consumer-presented.

This was disclosed in a recent circular released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) signed by Musa l. Jimoh, Director, Payments System Management Department.

Prior to this change, the implementation of QR Code for payments in Nigeria was only based on the Merchant-presented mode (where merchants present the QR Code for buyers to accept in order to conclude payment transactions).

What the CBN is saying

The CBN stated that the QR code framework was introduced to promote the deployment of an innovative product.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria, in furtherance of its efforts to promote the deployment of innovative products in the Nigerian payments system issued the Framework for Quick Response (QR) Code payments in Nigeria in January 2021,” the CBN said.

The CBN added, “following consultation with various stakeholders on ways to enhance the flexibility offered by the use of QR codes in payments, the CBN hereby reviews section 3.4 of the Framework and henceforth directs that implementation of QR code for payments in Nigeria shall be based on either merchant-presented or consumer-presented modes.”

The CBN stated that it would continue to monitor industry developments and issue further guidance as may be appropriate.

What you should know

• Two-dimensional bar codes are Quick Response (QR) codes. Customers can pay retailers utilizing QR code payments by simply scanning created QR codes with a smartphone camera. The information about the purchase transaction is delivered to the buyer’s or customer’s mobile device via QR code payments.
• Payments made with QR codes are extremely secure. The reason for this is that a QR code is merely a tool for exchanging information. The payment is secure since all data transferred via QR codes is encrypted.
• The participants in QR Code Payment in Nigeria include Merchants, Customers, Issuers (Banks, MMOs and Other Financial Institutions.
• QR codes are capable of storing lots of data. But no matter how much they contain, when scanned, the QR code should allow the user to access information instantly. It can be used for payments, sharing contacts and Wi-Fi passwords and lots more.