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E-Financial

Due Network Launching in Nigeria to Redefine International Payments

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Due Network, a next-gen fintech startup, has announced their plans to launch their global payments platform in Nigeria. The solution offers borderless multi-currency accounts, enabling seamless international money movement for businesses and individuals alike.

Due provides 50+ markets with uninterrupted access to global liquidity by connecting various domestic payment rails around the world, while facilitating the transactions at much lower costs and significantly faster settlement times compared to existing methods.

As an example, a company in Nigeria will be able to use NGN via NIP to pay their vendor in Europe, who then can receive the payment in EUR via SEPA — instantly, at near-zero costs and with a few clicks from a single interface.

“The global payments ecosystem is riddled with inefficiencies,” explained CEO and Co-Founder Robert Sargsian. “Receiving funds from overseas, paying international vendors or even moving intracompany funds across countries is expensive, slow and hard to access. We are here to challenge and change that.”

Powered by open and interoperable decentralised ledger protocols, Due enables their Nigerian clients to use Naira to add/hold digital US Dollars and Euros in their accounts, which can then be used to send/receive funds across Sub-Saharan Africa, the UK, EEA and the US.

Notably, all Due accounts are fully non-custodial, meaning the clients maintain complete control and custody over their funds on the platform. No intermediaries – not even Due themselves – can access the client funds in any way, providing the account holders with direct and unobstructed access without any restrictions or dependencies.

The company is headquartered in London, UK, and recently announced its $3.3 million Seed round to further develop Due’s technology and expand its fiat currency connectivity to more markets.

Due’s waitlist is now live with initial launch slated for later this month, focused on key corridors connecting Sub-Saharan Africa, the UK, EEA and the US, with expansion into Latin America (e.g. Mexico, Brazil) and Asia-Pacific (e.g. Hong Kong, Singapore) scheduled for Q1 2024. The company is also actively working to integrate digitised Real World Assets (e.g. tokenised US Treasuries) to provide more markets with wider access to yield-bearing assets.

Robert Sargsian and Co-Founder/CTO, Alex Popov, are joined by a global team spanning across London, Lagos, Munich, New York, Sofia and Mexico City. The team brings experience from renowned companies including Revolut, Uber, Binance and Bolt.

“We want to be a driving force in transforming how the global economy runs,” shared Sargsian. “Our vision is a future where money is truly global, permissionless and inclusive.”


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E-Financial

Fidelity Bank grows PBT by 167.8% to N105.8 billion in Q1 2025

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Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc
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Fidelity Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s leading Tier-1 financial institutions, has announced a remarkable financial performance for the first quarter of 2025, recording a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N105.8 billion, representing an impressive growth of 167.8% compared to N39.5 billion in Q1 2024.

Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc

Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc

The bank’s unaudited financial statements, released on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on April 30, 2025, highlight a substantial increase in Gross Earnings, which rose to N315.4 billion, marking a year-on-year growth of 64.2% from N192.1 billion in the same period last year.

Growth in interest income was primarily led by 38.6% yoy (7.4% ytd) expansion in earning assets base, while the increase in non -interest revenue came from FX-related income, trade and commission on banking services, etc., supported by increased customer transactions.

Commenting on the bank’s performance, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe,OON, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, stated, “We started the year with triple-digit growth in profit and sustained the momentum in our earning assets growth.

This performance shows the resilience of our business model and reinforces our confidence in delivering a better result in the 2025 financial year.”

Other areas of the unaudited financial statements, equally show a marked improvement with Total Deposits growing by 11.1% ytd to N6.6tn from N5.9tn in December 2024, driven by 10.6% ytd growth in low-cost deposits to N6.1tn, which represents 92.2% of total customer deposits. Local currency deposits increased by 2.0% ytd while foreign currency deposits increased by 21.4% from $1.9bn in December 2024 to $2.3bn.

Net Loans and Advances increased by 5.0% ytd to N4.6tn. The growth in the bank’s Loan Book was skewed to LCY Loans as cost of risk declined to 0.6% from 1.5% in 2024FY.

“Beginning the year with such positive momentum reinforces our commitment to supporting the growth of individuals and businesses, while enhancing our financial sustainability. As we go into the rest of the year, we remain focused on building a resilient banking franchise with a diversified earnings base,” Onyeali-Ikpe added.

Ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc is a full-fledged Commercial Deposit Money Bank serving over 9.1 million customers through digital banking channels, its 255 business offices in Nigeria and United Kingdom subsidiary, FidBank UK Limited.

The Bank is the recipient of multiple local and international Awards, including the 2024 Excellence in Digital Transformation & MSME Banking Award by BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards; the 2024 Most Innovative Mobile Banking Application award for its Fidelity Mobile App by Global Business Outlook, and the 2024 Most Innovative Investment Banking Service Provider award by Global Brands Magazine.

Additionally, the Bank was recognized as the Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence and as the Export Financing Bank of the Year by the BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.


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E-Financial

SEC Launches Capital Market Technology Survey

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Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled a technology adoption assessment survey for registered capital market operators as part of efforts to deepen innovation and efficiency in the Nigerian capital market.

SEC Launches Capital Market Technology Survey

In a circular, the SEC stated that the exercise was designed to evaluate the level of adoption of advanced technologies among CMOs operating within the Nigerian capital market.

According to the notice, “The following technology adoption survey is designed by the Commission to assess the adoption of advanced technologies among registered Capital Market Operators.”

The SEC directed all registered operators to log into the e-portal at using their current access credentials to complete the survey. The exercise will run for two weeks, from 5 to 20 May 2025.

Speaking recently on the role of innovation in the capital market, Emomotimi Agama, director-general of the SEC, urged stakeholders to embrace technology as a catalyst for growth, improved transparency, operational efficiency, and market resilience.

He noted that the SEC recognises the emergence of new financial products and services driven by technological advancements, and remains committed to adapting its regulatory framework to meet the evolving needs of the market.

According to him, the commission’s approach to innovation is anchored on three pillars: investor safety, market deepening, and problem-solving aimed at building a robust and efficient capital market ecosystem.

Agama also highlighted the commission’s Regulatory Incubation Programme, which allows fintech startups to operate within a controlled environment for one year while appropriate rules are developed to govern their activities.

He said the programme is part of the SEC’s broader strategy to support innovation while safeguarding market integrity and investor interests.


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E-Financial

IMF Confirms Nigeria’s Full Repayment of $3.4bn COVID-19 Loan

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International Monetary Fund (IMF) ,has confirmed that Nigeria has fully repaid about US$3.4 billion loan it got in April 2020 under the Rapid Financing Instrument to help alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp fall in oil prices.

IMF Confirms Nigeria's Full Repayment of $3.4bn COVID-19 Loan

IMF said the loan has been repaid as of April 30, 2025 in a statement issued in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital on Thursday.

However, IMF said Nigeria is still expected to honour some additional payments in forms of Special Drawing Rights charges hat will amount to US$30 million annually.

“In line with the IMF’s Articles of Agreements, these charges, levied at the SDR interest rate, which is updated at the beginning of each week, apply to the difference between Nigeria’s SDR holdings (SDR 3,164 million) (US$4.3 billion) and its cumulative SDR allocation (SDR 4,027 million) (US$5.5 billion)

“The net payment of the charges stops when Nigeria’s SDR holdings reach the cumulative allocation amount,” IMF said in the statement. Online fitness

 

 

 


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