The deepening of information technology driven pension scheme was weekend reenacted by the Nigerian Armed Forces with the signing of multi billion naira deal with leading electronic money transfer group in Nigeria, eTranzact International Plc.
The agreement, Business Hilights learnt will drive a military pension model designed to allow all retirees of the Army, Navy and Air Force to gain access using a biometric card packed with a 4-in-1 value proposition.
The value propositions include identification, verification, rewards, and receiving and making payments.
Before now, it would be recalled that eTranzact has a well-developed public sector offering with services that help identify ghost workers, plug revenue leakages, enable bulk payment of pensions, salaries, grants, etc.; opening up opportunities for growth and development.
Explaining the deal as sealed, Founder and CEO, eTranzact International Plc., Mr. Valentine Obi said “We are happy to be key partners in this great and commendable project in support of our courageous ex-service personnel and military pensioners. The resilience and courage of the Nigerian military is a source of joy to everyone and we hope that this pension card project not only solves identification and verification issues for the military but also gives the private sector an opportunity to offer special rewards and discounts”.
Production specification details show that the card offers immense benefits to its recipients as it can be tied to a bank account, attached to a mobile money wallet or operated as a stand-alone reloadable card. Other benefits like a 5% discount on airtime top-up, discounts on airline tickets, restaurant discounts, etc., are other benefits that are possible with the card.
Other key players in the deal include Mastercard and Access Bank who in the partnership will allow holders perform financial transactions at any ATM or POS, and can also be used for Web transactions.
Before now, the military pension scheme had been severed from the mainstream of the Nigerian Pension Scheme due to repeated complaints by the forces.
