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EFinA Says IT, Others Help Bank 25m Customers in 7 Years

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Ms. Modupe Ladipo, chief executive officer, Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), has said that financial inclusion drives added about 25 million customers to the banked segment in last seven years, underscoring the success of research, advocacy, capacity building and innovation fund provisioning towards financial in Nigeria.

Ladipo told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek that based on data EFIna obtained from 2008 to 2014, in terms of number and population that customer satisfaction, proper regulations and a number of innovations launched operators, added value to the financial inclusion and its sustainability efforts as customers made their ways into such areas as opening bank accounts, insurance, pensions, mobile money or microfinance bank.

“And it takes a lot to achieve such feat. We are looking at the sizes of some African nations. For the banks, you talk about Know Your Customers (KYC), mobile agents, regulations. In fact, every regulation has paid its role in trying to get us to where we ought to be. The providers have also considered ways to cut their operational costs”.

The EFIna boss said that critical in Financial Inclusion is meeting the needs of, mostly, rural dwellers, who also are in dire need of the financial services that are not so costly. “That is where the Agent Banking Regulations came up in 2013. What the concept means, is that those ‘mums’ and papas’’ shops can be used as agents by banks; in such that when you go there you can conduct certain banking transactions.

She added that the challenges rural dwellers are facing are obvious. “For instance, if it will cost N200 to visit the nearest branch of a bank, probably to go and deposit N500, it doesn’t make (savings) sense”.

Ladipo said, “People talk about M-pessa. It took the operators three years to break even; get volumes. It was only towards the end of 2012 that mobile money licences were given in Nigeria; we are coming to our three years. To us, it is like a reflection point.

Elsewhere, the 2014 customer satisfaction index (CSI) released by the KPMG showed that, “It is understandable that banks have not raced to launch PFM tools, since it is a completely foreign concept to the majority of consumers.

Mike Davidsen, financial services advisory at KPMG, said that many consumers perform basic PFM (a type of e-transactions) tasks on a regular basis, from tracking discretionary spending to paying bills.

With the proliferation of digital technology, PFM now encompasses everything from categorizing card transactions to receiving low-balance alerts to prevent overdraft.


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E-Financial

Lagos State Appoints MoneyMaster as Payment Partner for “Ounje Eko” Programme

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“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.

 


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E-Financial

CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is investigating irregular foreign exchange transactions and forward contracts valued at approximately $2.4 billion.

CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation

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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.

CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN

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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