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Paga Achieves Global Ranking on 2017 Fintech 250 List

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Paga, Nigeria’s leading Payments and Digital Financial Services Company has been named by CB Insights to the prestigious Fintech 250, a select group of emerging private companies working on groundbreaking financial technology.

Anand Sanwal, CB Insights CEO and co-founder, revealed the Fintech 250 companies during The Future of Fintech, a gathering of the world’s largest financial institutions, best fintech startups, and most active venture investors.

“The financial services industry will see more change in the next 10 years than it has in the last 100. And this transformation is being driven by a group of smart disruptive start-up companies. The Fintech 250 are the most promising of these insurgents. They are bringing emerging technologies and business models to financial services that will permanently change the way we handle money and do business,” said CB Insights CEO Anand Sanwal.

Founded in 2009 and launched to the market fully in 2012, Paga is Nigeria’s leading payments and digital financial services company with a mission to transform lives by delivering innovative and universal access to financial services.

Many Nigerians struggle with two financial problems; ease of payments and access to financial services.

Paga addresses these challenges through two channels: online/mobile which includes a short code payment platform (*242#) accessible on any mobile phone, mypaga.com as well as mobile apps, and through its network of over 12,000 retail agents across 36 states in Nigeria. In just over 4 years, Paga now has 6 million users on its platform.

“We are honoured to be selected for the CB Insights list for 2017. This recognition is for our team and investors and is a great recognition of our progress to date. Paga is well on its way to bank the millions of unbanked in Nigeria and solve the payment challenges of all Nigerians – both banked and unbanked. We are doing this by taking a multi-stakeholder approach as we build out a robust ecosystem. That ecosystem is anchored by our strong network of agents – currently over 12,000 women and men who are entrepreneurs in their local communities that offer safe locations to access financial services.” said Tayo Oviosu, Founder and CEO of Paga.

The CB Insights research team selected the Fintech 250 companies based on several factors including data submitted by the companies and the company’s Mosaic Score.

The Mosaic Score, based on CB Insights’ National Science Foundation-funded algorithm, measures the overall health and growth potential of private companies. Through this evidence-based, statistically-driven approach, the Mosaic Score can help predict a company’s momentum, market health and financial viability.

Companies such as Affirms, Stripe, Robinhood, Acorns, Nav and Blue Vine are also being recognized for their innovative technology in front of an audience of 1000 senior executives from around the world and news outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Reuters and Bloomberg.

Quick facts on the Fintech 250:
●    These 250 emerging private companies have raised $14B across 240 deals in 2016.
●    Applications of their technology include breakthroughs in insurance, lending, payments, human resources, real estate, and much more.
●    More than 2,000 companies were nominated or applied for the Fintech 250 (only 8% were selected).
●    Ribbit Capital has backed 17 of the Fintech 250 companies, while Andreesen Horowitz and Goldman Sachs backed 9.
●    Twenty-three Fintech 250 companies have reached a valuation of $1B or more.
●    23 countries are represented among the Fintech 250 companies.

With the vision to be Africa’s leading payments and digital bank, Paga continues to innovate and work closely with banks and other financial institutions to introduce more services that will make it even easier for people to conveniently make payments and get access to financial services.


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Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

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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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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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