E-Financial
Experts Urge Banks to Invest in Data Authentication to Boost Financial Inclusion
Investing in data authentication and detection software by the banks and other financial institutions would lead to the expansion of loan database, improve services and boost financial inclusion.
Bade Adesemowo, Chief Technology Officer [CTO] of Social Lender, said that the company’s platform has the capacity to authenticate loan applicants’ data based on social reputation before authorization by the banks and financial institutions.
“Our solution is trained to detect fake data in most cases. As such, utilising and optimizing our innovative service will boost financial inclusion and bring more development to the financial sector. Our system is actually training itself – machine learning – based on data we have acquired to improve performance of transactions on the system”, he said.
According to him, Social Lender provides customers of financial institutions access to microcredit based on their social reputation in their community. The unbanked and under-banked with little or no access to formal credit can also benefit. He said the company focuses on social reputation on mobile, online and social communities.
The fintech expert stated that the platform was designed in such a way to provide loan applicants’ data on the social community to banks and other financial institutions irrespective of locations.
He said that there is a need to “close the huge financial exclusion gap” and expand the options for financial institutions in data gathering for loan applicants before authorization.
He informed that established global financial institutions use credit history, credit bureau data and credit scores to arrive at lending decisions.
“This is a challenge in Nigeria, as less than 10% of the adults have viable credit bureau data and in Africa less than 50% have this required data. Even in America, 20% of the adult population lack access to formal credit.
“That is a significantly smaller market size, but a market gap all the same. This is where Social Lender comes in. There’s a need for an alternative measure of trust for the huge population. This alternative scoring solution is Social Lender’s Social Reputation Score”.
Speaking in a similar vein, Product Owner of Social Lender, Mudi Ogboru said financial technology is a viable tool that has the capacity to reach the unbanked individuals in the country.
“Banks today are serving about 40 million unique individuals in a country of about 200 million unique individuals. Fintech stakeholders can collaborate and build a strong network to deliver financial services to over 100 million Nigerians who the banks are not serving”, he said.
The CEO of Social Lender, Faith Adesemowo informed that the company has collaborated with several fintech firms to create healthy competition in the industry, saying that the company is focusing on expansion to other countries to propagate financial literacy and inclusion.
Social Lender is a lending solution based on social reputation on mobile, online and social communities. The company helps financial institutions offer microcredit based on social reputation to individuals who are under-banked or have little or no access to formal credit.
The solution is designed to bridge the gap of immediate fund access for people with limited access to formal credit. Social Lender uses its own proprietary algorithm to perform a social audit of the users’ online, on mobile, on social media and other related platforms and gives a Social Reputation Score to each user.
“Loans are guaranteed by the user’s social profile and network allowing users to then borrow from banks and other financial institutions based on their social reputation”, she said.
The company is improving access to financial services across Africa using social reputation. Beyond lending, Social Lender has multiple use cases in various sectors including by not limited to the in other areas including but not limited to KYC, insurance and so on.
It is building a social network for trust, credit and much more. It has partnership agreement with three financial institutions in two countries through Sterling Bank (Nigeria), Absa / Barclays Bank (South Africa), and iTrust (Nigeria). It is considering similar initiative with four banks in two countries.
The CEO said the company is accessible on multiple channels which include SMS, USSD and Web. Recently, Social Lender launched a USSD only channel in Nigeria targeting low income communities.
Social lender is seeking to raise $1 million in equity or convertible note to expand staffing, implement and integrate more technology interfaces, expand its brand and marketing reach, and to expand into new markets and countries of operation.
Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) PLC has approached a Federal high court in Lagos to salvage the sum of N4.1 billion vanished from it coffers due to system glitch.
NIBSS filed the suit before the court and joined 45 other financial institutions as defendants.
The applicant is urging the court to issue an order mandating the respondent’s financial institutions and the named banks to immediately place a Post No Debt restriction on all the accounts of the beneficiaries.
According to an affidavit sworn to buy Patience Johnson, a litigation officer at Manifield Solicitors and filed before the court by her law firm, the deponent alleged:
The Applicant Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System PLC is a duly registered company with the Corporate Affairs Commission and licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to provide a mechanism for clearing and settlement of interbank transfers and payments.
However, on the 6th day of September 2024, the Applicant experienced a system glitch that affected the Applicant’s Instant Pay (NIP) engine, resulting in an unexpected behavior that allowed customers of the financial institutions named before the court as respondents to initiate the unauthorized transfer of funds to various accounts.
The unauthorized transfer transactions covered a period between 6th September 2024 to 9th September 2024, and this occurrence was observed at about 12.30 pm on Monday, 9 September 2024. In the course of concluding the settlement for the NIP Transaction conducted over the weekend,
These transfers were routed to 176 accounts residing with the respondents.
The financial exposure of the Applicant from this incident is in the sum of N13,662,138,920.00 (thirteen billion, six hundred and sixty-two million one hundred and thirty-eight thousand nine hundred and twenty naira only). Details of the fund and respective accounts with the Respondents had been filed before the court.
The Applicant, having observed the transactions, immediately took steps to contact the respondents, requesting that a Post No Debt status be placed on the respective accounts where the funds had been traced
Further investigation in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, regulatory bodies, and law enforcement agents revealed a further attempt to dissipate the funds to a previously unknown set of beneficiaries who are domiciled with the respondents
The funds dissipated to the new set of beneficiaries amount to N4 190 101 636 (Four billion one hundred and ninety million, one hundred and one thousand six hundred and thirty-six naira).
The funds dissipated to another set of beneficiaries amounting to the sum N8 151 388 207.70 Eight billion one hundred and fifty-one million three hundred and eight-eight naira thousand two and seven naira seven kobo). The details of the fund and respective accounts with the respondents are as set out in Exhibit filed before the court.
Without the intervention of the Court, the funds which form the subject matter of this suit may be irretrievably dissipated.
The Applicant is fully aware that its interest can only be protected by restriction of the accounts to the tune of the sums received to avoid dissipation of the funds which could lead to a total loss of these funds.
By virtue of the CBN Circular of 13th September 2018 on the regulation of instant (Inter-bank) Electronic Funds Transfer and by Clause 10 of the CBN Regulation on Instant (inter-bank) Electronic Funds Transfer Services in Nigeria, 2018, NIBSS is entitled to block of the accounts and the cooperation the banks to recover the funds.
Consequently the Applicant seeks the Order of the Court to place restrictions and a Post No Debit (PND) status on the said funds pending the determination of the instant suit
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has raised the alarm over Africa’s staggering loss of $88.6 billion each year due to corruption and illicit financial flows (IFFs), calling the issue one of the most pressing threats to the continent’s development.
Speaking at a recent certification training on financial investigation for West Africa’s anti-corruption institutions, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs, peace, and security, stated that these losses account for 3.7% of Africa’s GDP and continue to undermine democratic governance and stability across the region.
Despite “considerable progress in the democratic consolidation in the region … democracy in most of our member state faces fragility, particularly due to the menace of corruption,” Musah noted.
He stressed that the rise of cryptocurrencies and other online financial tools is creating new vulnerabilities, making it vital for anti-corruption agencies to upgrade their skills and strategies.
The training, organized in partnership with Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Network of Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA), aimed to bolster regional capacity to combat increasingly tech-enabled and transnational financial crimes.
echoed the call for unity, stating that “to effectively confront these challenges, we must work together, sharing intelligence, harmonizing our methods, and speaking in one voice as a region committed to integrity and justice.”
As ECOWAS pushes toward its Vision 2050 goals, leaders say tackling corruption is essential to unlocking economic growth and restoring trust in governance across West Africa.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has banned digital asset exchanges or online foreign exchange trading platforms without formal registration.
It highlighted that the newly enacted Investments and Securities Act, 2025 (ISA 2025) makes it illegal to operate digital asset exchanges or online foreign exchange trading platforms without formal registration with the Commission.
Signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, ISA 2025 significantly strengthens the regulatory framework governing Nigeria’s capital market, with a particular focus on digital finance.
The SEC clarified in a statement released over the weekend that, in accordance with the new law, it is now an offence for any entity to operate an online forex trading platform or provide related services without prior registration with the Commission.
“By virtue of this Act, it is an offence in Nigeria for any entity that is not registered by the Commission to carry out the business of online foreign exchange trading platforms or related services.
“Any business entity with the plan of setting up a business in any of these areas is advised to visit the HOD DRM Department of the Commission for further directives on how to register with the Commission to avoid sanctions”, the Commission added.
The Commission noted that “under the newly enacted legislation, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now empowered to regulate a broader scope of market activities as Section 3(3)(b) of the Act explicitly mandates the Commission to “register and regulate securities exchanges, commodity exchanges, virtual and digital asset exchanges, and other market venues.”
Speaking on the development, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, director general of the Commission, described the new law as “a landmark step in positioning Nigeria’s capital market to be more inclusive, robust, and in tune with global best practices.”
He stated, “The ISA 2025 has given the Commission the legal backing to provide clarity, ensure investor protection, and enhance market confidence, especially in new and previously unregulated segments such as digital asset exchanges and online foreign exchange platforms.”
The Commission reaffirmed its commitment to supporting innovation while maintaining strict oversight. “We welcome innovation, but it must occur within a regulated environment that protects investors and maintains the integrity of our market.
“With ISA 2025 now in force, stakeholders in the financial and investment ecosystem are advised to familiarise themselves with the new provisions and ensure full compliance,” Agama stated.
NIBSS Heads to Court to Recover N4Bn Lost due to System Glitch
NITDA Warns Against Fake Google Play Store
NOA Uncovers Fraud by Banks, Universities in Students Loan Scheme
Lagos Commences Integration of NIN with State Single Social Register
Africa Loses $88.6Bn Yearly to Corruption- ECOWAS
E-Business2 days agoCyberattacks: ‘56 Percent of Cases Stem from Existing Logins
News2 days agoSenate Committee Partners with Kuda Bank to Tackle Compliance Crisis as Nigeria Loses ₦3.4 Trillion
Broadcasting2 days agoSubscriber Withdraws Suit against MultiChoice, FCCPC over Price Hike
Telecom2 days agoMTN Plans Second Public Offer in Nigeria
E-Business2 days agoKaspersky Presents Insight on 14% Increase in Spyware Attacks on Businesses in Africa @ GITEX Africa
E-Financial2 days agoSterling Bank Reiterates Transfer Fees Removal
General News2 days agoOpenAI Sues Elon Musk Claiming Bad-Faith Tactics
General News2 days agoFG Unveils e-Visa, Digital Entry Cards to Strengthen Border Security