…as church leaders, members react
As the deadline for the take-off of the cash-lite policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Lagos draws near, banks have started aggressive marketing of their various e-payment instruments to religious houses, particularly churches.

Financial Vanguard gathered that some banks have been making presentations to management of some churches on the use of non-cash instruments by their members to make payment for tithes and offerings. It was also gathered that some church managements have started sensitising their members on how to fulfill their financial obligations through e-payment channels.

Some are said to have invited banks to educate their members on how to adopt the various e-payment channels such as PoS terminals, web payment, mobile money and NFC (Near Field Communications) transactions.

For instance, a church, This Present House, some months ago hosted banks to give presentations on e-payment of tithes, etc. Also, some churches are calling on their members to use cheques for all payments up to N5, 000 for tithes, building vows, special seed and the rest, while other offerings of lesser value can be collected in cash.

Some church members are, however, complaining that regular use of cheques will increase their COT charges from their banks.

Point of Sales, POS, facilities

It will be recalled that owing to the huge cost of cash handling by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in the country, CBN decided to drive people towards alternative e-Channels to reduce the handling cost. To this end, the apex bank set a maximum cash transaction limits for both private and corporate accounts.

With the policy, a private/individual account can only do a maximum cumulative cash transaction of N150,000 with a service charge of N100 per additional N1,000, while a corporate account can only do a maximum cash transaction of N1 million with a charge of N200 per extra N1,000.

Banks visited by Financial Vanguard said they have approached a number of churches, telling them of the policy and other channels to use to escape the sanctions associated with the breach of the policy.

An official of GTBank’s branch in Shasha-Akowonjo, Lagos, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said any transaction by churches and other religious organization, beyond N1 million would be sanctioned and that there are no exception to the rule.

She, however, said church members can use Point of Sales (POS) machine to pay their tithes, donations or any money. She said the machines will debit the member and credit the church account.

Also Skye Bank and United Bank for Africa (UBA) noted that the CBN policy has no exclusion. They said churches can only be exempted if they use on-line banking to make transaction. As such, they said church members can make various payments to their banks through online banking.

Meanwhile, a banker who spoke on condition of anonymity wondered if the economy is ready for such transactions with the nation still battling with power and mobile network failure which are germane to the successful implementation of the e-banking programme.

“The banks are ever ready but what calls for worry is whether the economy is ready because the PoS machines that are being given out to churches, mosques, market women and institutions to bridge the gap of the e-banking products need to be powered by constant electricity supply, good network signals, reliable and an affordable internet access that would allow for smooth operation of the e-banking payments,” he said.

Investigations by Financial Vanguard revealed that some church leaders have started exploring the possibility of acquiring Point of Sale (PoS) machines for payment of tithes and offerings, while others have asked their members to consider making payments in cheques and bank drafts to reduce the volume of bank-bound cash.

The move is to help them, especially those with centralised accounting system, avoid charges on funds in excess of the N1million daily deposit and withdrawal benchmark for corporate organisations, including churches.

Specifically, church leaders have requested that members, who have current accounts, should pay tithes with cheque. “We will prefer manager’s Cheque so that it would be easy for us to manage,” a church leader announced after a recent church service in Lagos.

A pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), name withheld, told Vanguard that churches, especially large ones, have no choice but to adopt alternative means of collecting offerings.

“Imagine a church, as a corporate organisation, going to pay in N2 million cash to the bank in a day; while N1 million will go in freely, the next N1 million will be surcharged at N200 per N1,000 amounting to N200,000. Then add another 5 per cent of the N200, 000 as Value Added Tax, VAT, making a total of N210, 000 in handling charges. That is a lot,” he said.

The pastor however conceded that when fully operational, the policy is good for churches as it will reduce incidence of fraud through temptation to steal, and also discourage armed robbery incidents against churches.

Pastor Ekene Stanley, Head of Accounts, The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM), Apapa Branch, said the church is trying to key into the cashless initiative.

“We are trying to key into it considering the fact that we know the risk involved in a cash society. What we are trying to do is to ensure that we encourage our members. They have been made to understand that most of their tithes can be paid directly into the bank using the bank account and the church also receives an alert when such is paid. It is not really a problem per say.”

He said some of their members are beginning to embrace the concept because it is convenient for them, adding however that “not everybody will wake up to make attempt to pay their tithes into the bank.”

On whether it is in response to the cash-less policy that the church members are now making their payments via cheques, Stanley answered in the affirmative.

“Yes, it is because of the cashless policy and moreover, because of the convenience. Most people believe in spontaneous payment. Instead of removing their tithes when they get home, they can easily instruct their bank to oblige a standing order and pay directly into the church account and that makes it easy for the church.

“All they need do is send us information or send a text message to the church office. Of course we have an alert; we get it as soon as they pay. So, when we confirm through the church due processes, then we can withdraw it for other things or leave it in the account as the case may be.”

He, however, noted that the case of offering is different. “Offering is not something you can pay into the bank. Offering is something you bring to the church; you package whatever you have and pay. So, I believe the cash-less.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/03/cash-lite-lagos-banks-woo-churches-with-e-payment-options/