Interswitch the leading POS deployment company in Nigeria has scored Zenith tops among other banks in the deployment of Point of Sales (POS) terminals in the country. Statistics from the latest quarterly report of the platform owners, Interswitch, show that over 477 shops in Nigeria with on-line point of sales terminals (POS), now accept the Zenith EAZYcard, well ahead of the closest rival that trails with 377. Over 40 of such shops and outlets are located in the Lagos area alone, with more angling to come alive with the service.

The reports show that from the 154 POS terminals at the beginning of the year, the bank closed the first quarter with 238 of the machines, which further jumped to 477 by June 2006. With the use of cards growing by the day, more people are becoming wary of carrying cash thus freeing themselves of the risk associated with cash handling.

The Founder/Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Jim Ovia CFR, had at the launch of the Zenith branded Automated Teller Machines (ATM) in April, announced that the bank was spearheading a campaign to drive Nigeria towards a cashless society. As part of that campaign, he said, 30 per cent of Nigerians would be targeted to embrace the ATM by 2011. Zenith Bank has been at the forefront of the deployment of cutting edge technology in service delivery. This year alone, the bank has launched different categories of the ATM into the Nigerian market.

In April, it launched the first branded ATM in the country. And only last month (June), the bank again, launched the VISA ATM, preparatory to the roll-out of the chip-enabled VISA card in the country, using the chip and pin technology, the latest in the world. The various efforts have resulted in the increased use of the card technology – the new generation mode of payment.
So far, the bank parades over six different kinds of cards in its service suite including the Zenith EAZYcard, Z-Save and the different range of the MasterCard made up of the credit and charged cards and the websurfer.
The latest range of cards from the bank’s suite, the Visa, called the V-pay is about to hit the market. Besides popularizing the use of cards through POS machines in shops and other service outlets, over 50 of the bank’s branches are equipped with the ATM, making it possible for customers to enjoy services 24/7 all year round.