Lemo, First Bank, MasterCard Others Nominated for FT Awards

Major financial institutions and electronic card payments have in the country have been nominated for awards at the maiden edition of the Nigerian Financial Technology Awards hosted by financialtechnology magazine.
Among the nominees are First Bank’s First Monie, MasterCard, Verve and Paga. Of the 26 nominees, 17 are in the product category while nine are in the service category.
First Monie, MasterCard, Verve, Paga and Federal Inland Revenue all emerged nominees in the service category while Computer Warehouse Group, Quickteller, Easy Wallet from Etisalat and others are in the product category.
For championing the CBN’s Cashless Nigeria initiative, Tunde Lemo, deputy governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in charge of operations would be giving Special Recognition Awards. This award goes to an individual who has made transformational contributions to the growth and development of e-transactions in Nigeria
The management of eMaginations, publishers of financialtechnology magazine, in a press statement signed by Mr. Sola Fanawopo, MD/CEO, said members of the awards jury have gone through a rigorous process to picking products and services that met the criteria set by the jury.
The awards would honour individuals, firms, vendors and institutions that have distinguished themselves in the provision of financial services via the use of technology would be honoured and celebrated at the awards.
Specifically, the awards would reward and recognize innovations and excellence in IT activities in the financial banking, insurance, microfinance industry and capital market and this is to commemorate the fifth year anniversary of financialtechnology magazine.
According to Fanawopo who doubles as the editor-in-chief of the magazine, the publication is committed to hosting the most credible and prestigious Awards in the financial services technology industry in Nigeria.
“As a pointer, we have constituted credible members of jury to decide and chose the nominees. Some of them would emerge winners and would be honoured on that day. The process of selection is quite through rigorous. The seven members jury is headed by the MD/CEO of Nextzon Limited, Mac Atasie”, he said.
Fanawopo informed that before deciding eventual winners in the product and service categories, the jury would meet this week and collate the nominee, which would be the final sitting before the awards on November 30.
“The Nigerian Financial Technology Awards 2012 would ginger stakeholders in the e-payments industry to continually strive for excellence,” he said.