E-Business
ValuCard Makes Money Transfer Easy with V-Money
ValuCard Nigeria (VCN) Plc has unveiled the V-Money Transfer, to enthrone cashless transactions and reinforce their leadership role towards a cashless economy.
Kyari Bukar, managing director, disclosed that the growing wave of impersonation in existing money transfer services, robberies, quest for a quick, safe, secure and convenient money transfer solution were the major reasons the company is launching the service which is the first of its kind.
Kyari noted that over the years, globalization and emigration of Nigerian professionals to more developed economies have resulted in a huge demand for quick, safe and secure money transfer service.
He disclosed that one of the unique advantages of the service over other money transfer services is that Visa Cardholders abroad can transfer funds to their loved ones online, from the convenience of their homes, without going to an agent’s shop while the recipients in Nigeria can collect the monies outside banking hours and without the inconvenience of presenting any form of identification at bank branches or the risk of identity theft.
Kyari said that transfer of funds will be done online using “Verified by Visa” (VbV), the secured Internet payment solution licensed by Visa International and deployed by ValuCard Nigeria Plc; while assuring that the system will protect international Visa cardholders against unauthorized use of their card.
He added that the system is foolproof as transfers will be validated using intelligent and secure payment solutions developed by ValuCard and Visa, thereby eliminating the risk of fraudsters collecting the money. Transfers, according to him, are in favour of only existing bank customers that are Visa and V-Pay cardholders, and whose banks subscribe to the V-Money Transfer service. Thus, the risk of making payment to unknown persons is eliminated, thereby saving the banks and their valued customers, undesirable loss.
While fielding questions from the press, Agada Apochi, executive director of the company said recipients are enabled to receive and use money outside banking hours by using their Visa or V-Pay cards to buy goods and services or collect Naira from ATMs.
This he said would be facilitated by online-real-time instant credit to the recipient’s card and notification, and he/she may also collect Dollars during banking hours. He pointed out that in addition to the product’s unique security features and convenience; it is highly cost effective to senders, and the service will be provided through a secure and dedicated website already developed by VCN Plc.
In retrospect, Ben Edafiadjebre, business development manager, VCN Plc said: “From a small-scale level in 1993, money transfer has become big business in the country. The money transfer industry is now highly ICT-driven deploying the use of the Internet to move money all over the world. Our V-Money Transfer solution operates beyond limits and knows no boundaries.”
He added that the introduction of their world-class solution coming at this time is a huge relief for Nigerians living in the Diaspora wishing to send money to support their families, invest in businesses and execute projects in Nigeria.
Giving an insight into how the service will work, Musa Jimoh, head of information technology, explained that the transfer channel which is a dedicated website has been built with modern information technology that guarantees round-the-clock availability.
He assured that transactions at the website will be authenticated using the well known VbV, which runs on the 3D secure protocol. This ensures that the cardholder using his card for transaction on the Internet, the bank that issued the card and Visa International are involved in the authentication and authorization of the transaction for the purpose of risk management.
He also informed that in order to avoid payment of funds to fraudsters, all transfers for the benefit of the cardholders will be through the bank where the cardholder already maintains an account and obtained Visa or V-PAY card.
“To enjoy the service, recipients must obtain their Visa or V-PAY card from only banks that subscribe to V-Money Transfer.”
E-Business
Schmidt, Ex Google Chief Says AI Risky in Terrorist Hands
![](https://www.nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Eric-Schmidt.jpg)
Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO has expressed concerns about the extreme risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI) falling into the hands of terrorists or rogue states.
![Schmidt, Ex Google Chief Says AI Risky in Terrorist Hands](https://i0.wp.com/www.nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Eric-Schmidt.jpg?resize=573%2C254&ssl=1)
Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO
He warned that nations such as North Korea, Iran, and Russia could adopt AI technologies to develop weapons capable of causing significant harm, including biological weapons.
Schmidt urged governments to oversee private tech companies, emphasising, “The real fears I have are not the ones most people discuss about AI, I talk about extreme risk.”
“I’m always worried about an ‘Osama Bin Laden’ scenario, where truly evil individuals take control of some aspect of modern life to harm innocent people,” he added.
With private companies driving AI advancements, he stressed the need for careful government monitoring and regulation. “It’s really important that governments understand what we’re doing and keep their eye on us,” he said.
His remarks followed a two-day AI summit in Paris, where the UK and the U.S. declined to sign a communiqué outlining the future direction of AI. The declaration on “inclusive and sustainable artificial intelligence for people and the planet” was endorsed by 57 countries, including India, China, the Vatican, the EU, and the African Union Commission.
The UK justified its decision, stating that the agreement lacked “practical clarity” on global AI governance and national security concerns.
Schmidt supports U.S. export controls restricting the sale of advanced AI microchips to certain countries, aiming to slow adversaries’ progress in AI research.
He also highlights the importance of international collaboration on AI safety, suggesting that cooperation with nations like China is essential to addressing global AI challenges.
E-Business
OpenAI CEO Rejects $97.4Bn Takeover Bid from Elon Musk
![](https://www.nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Open-AI.jpg)
Sam Altman, chief executive of ChatGPT-owner OpenAI, has firmly declared the company “not for sale” following a $97.4bn (£78.4bn) takeover bid from a consortium led by Elon Musk.
![OpenAI CEO Rejects $97.4Bn Takeover Bid from Elon Musk](https://i0.wp.com/www.nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Elon-Musk.jpg?resize=563%2C229&ssl=1)
Elon Musk
Speaking at the AI Action Summit in Paris, Altman emphasised OpenAI’s mission to develop AGI (artificial general intelligence) for the benefit of humanity.
Marc Toberoff, attorney for Elon Musk, confirmed the bid submission on Monday.
In response, Altman humorously offered to buy Twitter for $9.74 billion on Musk’s platform.
Unlike many tech giants, OpenAI is not publicly traded but operates through a complex partnership between non-profit and for-profit entities.
Musk aims to return OpenAI to its non-profit roots, despite owning a rival firm, xAI.
Christie Pitts, a tech investor, expressed scepticism about Musk’s intentions, noting his competitive interests.
Altman echoed this sentiment, suggesting Musk’s move disregards OpenAI’s mission.
Altman, who holds no stock in OpenAI, advocates transforming the organisation into a fully for-profit company to raise more funds for AI research.
Although the board has the final say, the $97.4bn offer falls short of OpenAI’s previous $157bn valuation and rumoured $300bn in future funding talks.
Toberoff stated the consortium might increase their bid. Meanwhile, OpenAI is collaborating with Oracle, a Japanese investment firm, and an Emirati sovereign wealth fund on “The Stargate Project,” a $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative announced by President Donald Trump.
E-Business
Adobe Launches AI Video Tool to Compete with OpenAI
![](https://www.nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Adobe-logo.jpg)
Adobe yesterday released the first public version of an artificial intelligence tool that can generate video clips and revealed how much it will charge, but said it will not set pricing for major users such as studios until later this year.
The Firefly Video Model, as Adobe is calling the service, will compete against Sora, a model developed by ChatGPT creator OpenAI, and startup Runway, both of which currently offer video-generation services. Facebook owner Meta Platforms has also developed a video-generation AI model but has not given a timeline for when it will be released.
Adobe’s model differs from its rivals because it is geared toward generating clips that will fit into how film and television studios use Premiere Pro, its flagship video editing software.
To that end, many of the features that Adobe is emphasizing revolve around feeding existing shots into the video model and asking it to generate clips that fix or expand on shots that were taken on a real production set but that did not come out quite right.
Adobe said the service will generate five-second clips at 1080p resolution. While that is shorter than the clips of up to 20 seconds generated by OpenAI’s service, Adobe executives said the majority of individual clips in most productions are only three seconds.
Adobe said a user can generate 20 clips per month for $9.99 and 70 clips for $29.99. That compares with 50 videos for $20 per month with OpenAI’s plan at lower resolution and a $200 OpenAI plan that can handle longer, higher resolution videos.
Adobe is also working on a “Premium” pricing plan for studios and other high-volume video users and will release those pricing details later this year. Alexandru Costin, Adobe’s vice president of generative AI, said the company is working to generate 4K video and will remain focused on quality rather than longer clips.
“We actually think that great motion, great structure, great definition scheme, making the actual clip look like it was film, is more important than making a longer clip that’s unusable,” Costin told Reuters.
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