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Paga Partners NIPOST to Bring Financial Services to Communities

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Paga and the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) in line with their shared goal to drive deeper financial inclusion in Nigeria recently announced a partnership aimed at making financial services available to all Nigerians by leveraging on all the NIPOST offices across the country as robust financial services points.

This will be done on the back of the Shared Agent Network framework approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Through their partnership with NIPOST, Paga will continue to expand its mobile money agent network to include post offices in all the Local Government Areas of Nigeria while giving priority to areas where banking services are limited or otherwise difficult to access.

The initial set of services to be offered are deposits and withdrawals from bank accounts and mobile money wallets, utility bill payments, and airtime recharge for all telecom networks.

Additional services, including savings and loans products, are scheduled for launch in partnership with banking partners.

Speaking on the collaboration with Paga, Mr. B.M Mukhtar, General Manager Financial Service, NIPOST said “There is a post office location within reasonable distance of almost every community in the country today, so we see an opportunity for NIPOST to play a leading role in enhancing financial inclusion for the betterment of Nigeria. For this reason, NIPOST is committed to partnering with Paga and other financial institutions to bring critical financial services such as bill payments, bank account deposits and withdrawals, loans, money transfer and more to be available at NIPOST locations nationwide. We are taking it step-by-step and have already started to see the positive impact.”

Also speaking on the collaboration, Paga co-founder and director of business development, Jay Alabraba expatiated, “Our work with NIPOST is simply one of several big steps that we are leading the industry in taking, to bring financial services to all communities in Nigeria. The rollout has been on-going since the beginning of 2016, and we are very encouraged by the outcomes so far. The Central Bank provided clear guidelines for shared services such as these, and we invite banks, microfinance institutions, mobile payments providers and others to join us to reach more customers and make the scheme a success. Nigerians needs this now more than ever, so we must direct our resources wisely and make it happen.”

NIPOST and Paga joint teams work closely to ensure the commercial success of the initiative, including training and equipping of the NIPOST staff at each post office performing the transactions and other day-to-day mobile money agent operations.

Today, the Paga network comprises over 11,000 authorized mobile money agents and 6 million unique customers across Nigeria. Paga’s agent network is the largest and most active network of financial services access points in Nigeria.


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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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