E-Financial
CBN, Banks Move to Boost Financial Inclusion
As part of efforts to enhance financial inclusion in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and banks, under the aegis of the Bankers’ Committee, have concluded plans to simplify the requirements for the Bank Verification Number (BVN) for certain types of transactions.
Mr. Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, disclosed this at the weekend, while briefing journalists at the end of a two-day annual Bankers’ Committee retreat at Ogere, Ogun State.
The retreat had the theme, “Delivering Inclusive Growth: Leveraging Digital Finance”.
A BVN is a biometric identification system implemented by the CBN to curb illegal banking transactions in Nigeria. It is a security measure aimed at reducing fraud in the banking system.
The new move would result in the creation of what the CBN Governor described as “BVN Lite,” which would require fewer information to enrol customers that hitherto were excluded because of certain stringent requirements.
However, under the BVN Lite, Emefiele pointed out that the amount of transactions to be carried out by such persons would be limited.
He said, “BVN as it is today, we have close to 40 million people enrolled on the platform. We think that because of the benefits of the BVN today to bank customers and, indeed, to the economy, there is need to move to what is called BVN 2.0.
“What it entails is to reclassify and segregate transactions that can be held by BVN. For instance, we have two classifications. The existence BVN requirement that we have in the system has almost about 18 lines of information that are required, and where your 10 prints and fingers are taken to ensure that all transactions that you take are within the banking system.
“We have decided to classify that as BVN classic and BVN premium. But we agreed that there should also be a system where people who are today financially excluded can now be financially included. Here, we are talking about creating another segment called BVN Lite.
“Here, minimal information about the person will be held. What is means is that if you are classified a BVN Lite, then there is a limit to the kind of transactions you can conduct in the banking sector, maybe in terms of deposit or loans.”
Emefiele stressed that the focus was to ensure that more persons, especially the rural dwellers, were financially included and able to conduct basic banking services.
“For our brethren in local communities, we think that by being allocated the BVN Lite, they would be automatically migrated into the banking system,” he stated. “Some of our brethren that are doing the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme or the Social Investment Programme, we believe we can use the BVN Lite as an arrangement, so that everybody can be financially included and can conduct banking transactions. What is important is that we can have a view of total number of people in the financially included,” he added.
He said members of the Bankers’ Committee also discussed the need for banks to continue to invest in tools that would prevent the financial system from cyber attacks.
“The committee also discussed the need to digitise the tax collection system. That is where the world is going to and we need to embrace it,” the CBN governor said.
Commenting on the move by the Bankers’ Committee to revamp the National Theatre at Lagos, Emefiele said the committee had gotten a presidential approval to give the facility a facelift. He disclosed that repair work at the National Theatre would commence next month, just as he assured workers that their jobs would not be affected.
Emefiele put the estimated amount to be spent on renovation of the National Theatre at N25 billion, saying the committee would thereafter intervene at the national theatres in Kano, Rivers and Enugu states.
According to him, “We are just trying to redevelop the National Theatre and build around it, these four hubs – IT, fashion, music and Nollywood – that would help create economic activities around the National Art Theatre, and then present it as an opportunity to create jobs for people, particularly our youths.
“We must create jobs for our youths. A larger number of our people are youths and if they are jobless, how can they live a life? These people have certain innate skills endowed by God. What we just trying to say is for them to unleash these skills.”
E-Financial
Africa Processed 49Bn Transactions in 2023 – SIIPS Report
The SIIPS Report which offers valuable insights into the opportunities and challenges facing Africa’s digital payment systems has said that 2023 was a landmark year, with 49 billion transactions processed across the continent—the highest volume recorded to date.
This staggering number underscores a broader trend: the shift towards digital, fast, and efficient payments is becoming a cornerstone of Africa’s economic growth.
The SIIPS Report 2024, launched in Accra on Thursday, showcases the remarkable growth of Instant Payment Systems (IPS) across Africa, emphasizing their role in advancing financial inclusion.
With 31 operational IPS in 26 countries and another 27 on the way, the report reveals a 37% growth in transaction volume over five years.
While digital payment adoption surges, barriers remain for vulnerable groups, especially women, who face security and fraud concerns.
Despite progress, no system has fully achieved inclusive access, affordability, or transparency.
The report emphasizes the need for collective efforts to expand IPS, particularly in rural areas, to ensure universal financial inclusion by 2030.
Supported by partners like the World Bank and UNECA, the SIIPS Report offers valuable insights into the opportunities and challenges facing Africa’s digital payment systems, calling for innovation and regulatory support to achieve seamless, cross-border payments across the continent.
More importantly, the total value transacted surged at a remarkable average annual growth rate of 39% from 2019 to 2023, reaching over $1 trillion last year.
Such figures highlight Africa’s increasing reliance on digital financial systems and indicate a seismic shift in how money moves.
E-Financial
CBN Issues Scam Alert, Warns of Fake SWIFT Messages Linked to Transfer Claim
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has advised bank customers to be cautious about the use of fake SWIFT messages during foreign exchange (FX) remittances.
SWIFT messages are sent through the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication network to facilitate financial transactions between banks and financial institutions.
The CBN gave the warning in a statement signed by Hakama Sidi-Ali, acting director of corporate communications department, on Tuesday in Abuja.
The apex bank said it had been inundated with claims by some stakeholders about the conclusion of foreign currency transfer to their Nigeria bank accounts.
According to Sidi Ali, stakeholders like private entities, individuals, law firms, and government agencies complained that foreign currency funds allegedly transferred to them by foreign entities have yet to be credited to their accounts with Nigerian banks.
“In some instances, the claimants alleged that the funds were withheld by either the beneficiary bank in Nigeria or the CBN and requested assistance towards releasing the funds to them,” She said.
“The requests are usually supported with fake documents such as SWIFT MT103, SWIFT Ack copy, etc.
“It has become imperative to state that the SWIFT ack copy and SWIFT MT103 that these claimants usually attach as evidence of remittance to beneficiary banks in Nigeria are not reliable.”
Sidi Ali added that the SWIFT messages are always not traceable on the SWIFT platform and the funds are not received to enable their application to the beneficiary’s account.
“In a situation where a fund transfer beneficiary receiving bank claims non-receipt of funds remitted by the foreign entity, the standard practice is for the sending customer to contact the sending bank.
“The purpose for the sending bank to send a tracer to trace where the fund is hanging and recall it.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state emphatically that the CBN neither provides correspondent banking services for Nigerian banks in foreign payments nor maintains accounts for private business entities.
“Consequently, petitioners’ claim that the alleged expected inflows for onward credit into the accounts of private business entities are trapped in the CBN is not only spurious but deceitful.”
The CBN spokesperson urged the general public to be careful with such unauthentic SWIFT messages and documents containing spurious claims of non-application of substantial foreign currency funds allegedly transferred into the beneficiary’s account.
She also warned that the CBN would not hesitate to report any bank customer making unsubstantiated and illegitimate claims to law enforcement agencies for investigation and prosecution.
E-Financial
FG to Establish National Youth Development Bank to Support Young Nigerians
Federal Government is to establish a National Youth Development Bank and a Youth Data Bank, according to President Bola Tinubu.
President Bola Tinubu, represented by Kashim Shettima, his vice, , disclosed this at a Stakeholders Roundtable on Northern Youth Development organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, in Abuja.
The President described the banks as crucial tools for “providing financial and informational support to young Nigerians.”
He said since assumption of office, his administration unveiled a comprehensive youth development strategy spanning multiple key sectors to drive Nigeria’s economic transformation.
Tinubu extolled the legacy of the late Sardauna of Sokoto and former Premier of Northern Nigeria, Ahmadu Bello
” The late Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, was one of the towering giants on whose shoulders we have ascended as a nation.
” His vision was clear: the North cannot progress in isolation, and Nigeria cannot prosper unless every part of this nation thrives,” he said.
Tinubu declared that the development of Northern Nigeria remains fundamental to the nation’s prosperity.
According to him, “whatever disrupts the growth of one region sets back the entire nation.
“For far too long, we have been taunted as a nation with the most children out of school—a reality that should not elicit pride but provoke urgent action.
“This alarming statistic has turned the promise of our population into a challenge rather than the dividend it ought to be,” he added.
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