E-Financial
AMMAN Seeks Role in SANEF for Growth
Worried by the identified challenge of recruitment of agents without transactions in the Central Bank of Nigeria and Bankers’ committee shared agents network expansion initiative(SANEF), Association of Mobile Money Agents in Nigeria (AMMAN) has urged CBN to collaborate with her to address the problem.
Victor Olojo, president, AMMAN, decried none involvement of their association in SANEF initiative which according to him is why agents without scale were recruited in the scheme.
“We think that it is a very laudable idea, but more needs to be done one specific thing we have been asking those spearhead it is that an association like AMMAN should be brought in because we are on the field and understands the dynamics of the operation in rural areas and they are in their board rooms in Victoria Island and Abuja, they don’t know what obtains in the market.
“We believe that if AMMAN is brought into the system, we will be able to share real time experiences and challenges and see how the objectives can be achieved.
“There is fund attached to SANEF we told the core stakeholders that we as Association knows the agents who are doing well, we know agents that can bring in volume of transaction so they must ensure they carry us along, without that there will continue to be problem in the system.
Because the banks want to present numbers the say we have agents but are those agents bringing scale or presence? In AMMAN we are bold to say that 90 percent of our agents are doing amazing well.
“Mobile money agents have been effective in driving financial inclusion in Nigeria by delivering what the banks cannot deliver. Mobile money agents have come as better alternative to regular banking system.
“What that means is that it is expensive setting up a bank branch in remote areas but with agents which is low cost and easy penetration it is easy to set up bank accounts seamlessly. In terms of financial inclusions agents have done very well in delivering the services to people,” he said.
Olajo spoke at the 3rd AMMAN conference held in Lagos last week, noted that his association is complementing the efforts of CBN in financial inclusion by launching AMMAN Financial Inclusion Force (AFIF).
“The idea behind this is to ensure that we complement the objective of SANEF spearheaded by CBN, we have identified a lag in capacity building, empowerment and also funding.
“We have set up this arm to empower our members who are aggregators who are able to recruit agents in the villages. For instance, if you are an agent and you have up to five agents under you, we will help you by training those agents for them to perform better and how to help you to increase the number to 10 and later 20 agents,” he added.
He attributed harassment by law enforce agents as one of the numerous challenges AMMAN members are facing across the country.
“We have a number of challenges these include harassment by law enforcement agents, we have issues of identity thief and funding, collaboration with stakeholders that is why we are having conferences like this so that all these problems can be address.
E-Financial
Lagos State Appoints MoneyMaster as Payment Partner for “Ounje Eko” Programme
“Ounje Eko”, the food price discount initiative of the Lagos State Government, has appointed leading payment service bank, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank Limited (MMPSB), as its collaborator in the bid to ensure ease of payments at the market.
MoneyMaster is one of the Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed Payment Service Banks (PSBs) to promote financial inclusion across Nigeria.
Under the partnership, MMPSB will apply its cutting-edge payment solution to engender easy payment and reconciliation in order to make the experiences of Lagosians who will be getting their food supplies from the markets pleasurable. Its payment solution is also all-encompassing and ensures real time value to payment destinations.
The mobile bank was appointed as the collection and payment partner for “Ounje Eko” Food Markets programme which is a government initiative serving the five divisions of Lagos State. Consequent on this, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank will collect payments in 57 LCDAs in the state.
The partnership gives credence to the quality of payment solutions that MoneyMaster is reputed for in its services to its growing business clientele in private and public sectors.
E-Financial
CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is investigating irregular foreign exchange transactions and forward contracts valued at approximately $2.4 billion.
The inquiry follows an extensive audit by Deloitte, which scrutinized $7 billion in dollar debts accumulated under the bank’s previous leadership.
In the aftermath of the 294th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, Yemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, disclosed to journalists that the investigation, supported by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, among other security bodies, aims to clarify the legitimacy of these FX allocations identified as problematic by the audit.
“It was determined that a number of these transactions did not qualify…they were outright illegal. The law enforcement agencies are now looking into those transactions that as far as we are concerned, are not valid to be paid,” Cardoso detailed, emphasizing the unlawful nature of these forex deals.
The crux of the investigation lies in the audit findings that a significant portion of the scrutinized transactions lacked proper documentation and, in many instances, were deemed outright illegal.
However, the unfolding investigation has raised concerns within the organized private sector, with some entities contemplating legal action against commercial banks for unresolved forex bids.
Despite these tensions, Governor Cardoso reassures that the foreign exchange market remains open and transparent, inviting stakeholders to address their forex needs through the official channels.
Furthermore, Cardoso clarified the distribution of fertilizers to farmers as a one-off measure and not indicative of a shift back to direct interventions by the CBN, underscoring a commitment to strategic, regulatory governance rather than direct market involvement.
E-Financial
CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed deposit money banks in the country to expedite action to increase their capital base from the current ₦25bn.
Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, stated this during the apex bank’s 294th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Tuesday in Abuja, when the MPC hiked the interest rate by 22.75% to 24.75%.
The apex bank chief said the MPC examined developments in the banking sector and expressed satisfaction that the industry remained stable. The committee, however, said to guard against risk, commercial banks in the country should accelerate their recapitalisation efforts.
Cardoso said, “The MPC also reviewed developments in the banking system and noted that the industry remains safe, sound, and stable. The committee thus called on the bank to sustain its surveillance and ensure compliance of banks with existing regulatory and macro-potential guidelines.
“The MPC also enjoined the banks to expedite actions on the recapitalisation of banks to strengthen the system against potential risks in an increasingly globalised world.”
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CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering