E-Financial
MasterCard Lists Expectations from Digital Financial Services Lab
MasterCard has expressed its expectations Digital Financial Services lab recently launched in East Africa with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
In a telephone chat with Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, Daniel Lanre Monehin, division president, Sub-Saharan Africa at MasterCard, said although the lab comes up in East Africa, MasterCard will ensure innovations and applications developed therein be used to leapfrog financial inclusion in the African Continent.
Globally, digital payment innovations let more people take advantage of formal financial services. These tools are simple to use, efficient and have the potential to dramatically reduce costs.
Despite these innovations, there are still 2.5 billion adults around the world who are excluded from the formal financial system. These people lack access to basic financial services and are forced to rely on cash, which creates instability and significant risks.
MasterCard is notable as a leading global payments solutions company that provides a family of well-known, widely-accepted payment card brands including MasterCard, Maestro and Cirrus and serves consumers, financial institutions, and businesses in over 210 countries and territories worldwide.
Monehin said that the new initiative seeking to impact more than 100 million people even globally, by developing practical and cost-effective financial tools that expand access and help build stable futures over the long term.
Specifically, the Divisional President said that Africans fates are now in their hands, hence MasterCard is interested in tackling issues related to biometrics, pensions, e-payment and cashless economy policies, and bring the financially excluded into the system.
He reiterated that through an $11 million grant over three years from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the lab will generate new ideas with local entrepreneurs, governments and other stakeholders across East Africa, and rapidly move from concept to reality.
“Although the lad is launched in East Africa, but the innovations coming from there will not only be implementable in East Africa, or Africa, rather MasterCard is interested in addressing several critical financial inclusion challenges. Every economy has its peculiar challenges; what we want is for Africans to develop applications that will serve the people and bring the financially excluded on-board,” Monehin said.
While expressing confidence on the viability of the project, he cited the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), one of the world’s first debit card-based payment systems for welfare benefits and social security, which has saved the country $350million over a five-year period.
He said, “MasterCard is passionate about the new innovation and we draw our inspiration, again, from the SASSA project in South Africa where the debit card issued to the citizens serves multiple purposes. Today, South African uses the card to disburse government pension, disability, and public assistance payments because of its biometric-debit card composition.
“Unlike normal debit cards, the South African cards require users to have their fingerprints and voices digitally analyzed by computers. In effect, they’re the next generation of the EBT cards commonly used for food stamps in the United States”.
In Nigeria, he said, MasterCard is passionately involved in the management of payments account specific information under the ongoing national identity management scheme, and hopes “the Card when activated will help in bring about 70% of the financially excluded Nigerians in the banking system; deepen e-payment and help in the disbursement of pension”.
Expatiating on the payments technology deployed by Mastercard under the program, Monehin said the eID card is a chip and pin card certified according to the EuroPay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV) standard for globally interoperable, secure payments, which is mandated by the Federal Government, and it is approved and licenced by the CBN.
Thus, MasterCard’s vision for setting up the digital financial service lab was geared towards addressing issues where, “Many people lack access to the most basic financial services, leaving them trapped in a cash economy that imposes greater risks and costs on those least able to afford them.
He added that the investment made by the Gates Foundation, coupled with MasterCard strong innovation processes, they will create and scale financial services that open up a world of inclusion and help people build better, brighter futures.
Daniel who is primarily focused on establishing the MasterCard brand presence, driving card issuance, increasing acceptance, deploying innovative solutions and partnering with market regulators, noted that the new lab will be part of MasterCard Labs, MasterCard’s global Research and Development division that focuses on the evolution of technological and consumer trends and has created hundreds of prototypes over the last several years in a variety of areas from payment acceptance to authentication to P2P payments.
Fidelity Bank Plc has recorded gross earnings of N315.4bn for the first quarter ended 31 March 2025, representing a 64.2 per cent increase from the N192.1bn reported in the corresponding period in 2024.
Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, managing director and chief executive officer, Fidelity Bank,
According to the bank’s unaudited financial statements filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited, the impressive performance was driven by significant growth in interest income, foreign exchange revaluation gains, and higher fee and commission income.
Interest and similar income calculated using the effective interest rate method rose by 58.1 per cent to N256.1bn in the period under review, up from N161.9bn in the same quarter of 2024.
Additionally, the bank earned N25.4bn from other interest and similar income, compared to N8.2bn in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Despite a 28.5 per cent increase in interest expense to N90.7bn from N70.5bn, net interest income climbed to N190.8bn, reflecting a 91.5 per cent growth from N99.6bn in the same quarter last year.
Fidelity Bank recorded a credit loss expense of N6.3bn, a decline of 49.2 per cent compared to the N12.4bn reported in Q1 2024. Consequently, net interest income after credit loss expense rose to N184.5bn from N87.3bn.
The bank also saw growth in its non-interest income. Fee and commission income increased to N23.8bn, up from N18.3bn in Q1 2024.
Foreign currency revaluation gains contributed N9.8bn to earnings, representing a 200.8 per cent increase from N3.3bn in the same period last year.
On the cost side, operating expenses remained elevated. Personnel expenses rose to N19.7bn from N14bn, while depreciation, amortisation, and impairment increased significantly to N8.7bn from N2.2bn. Other operating expenses also grew to N87.5bn from N52bn.
Despite the cost pressures, the bank posted a profit before income tax of N105.8bn, more than doubling the N39.5bn recorded in the same period last year. After a tax charge of N14.7bn, profit for the period stood at N91.1bn, marking a 190 per cent increase compared to N31.4bn reported in Q1 2024.
Earnings per share rose to 181 kobo from 98 kobo in the corresponding quarter.
The bank’s total comprehensive income for the period rose to N101.6bn, up from N35.8bn in Q1 2024, bolstered by exchange differences on translation of foreign operations and revaluation gains on debt instruments.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has uncovered another suspected illegal investment platform identified as TOFRO.COM (Tofro).
The commission raised the alarm in a notice issued on Thursday and made it available to the newsmen.
The commission warned Nigerians against falling for their tactics to obtain money from them through the promise of unusually high returns.
SEC said that the suspected investment platform holds itself out as a cryptocurrency trading platform, adding that such an investment scheme is not registered by the commission.
It said that based on its investigations, Tofro’s operations exhibit the typical indicators of a fraudulent Ponzi scheme.
According to the SEC, it promises unusually high returns, heavy reliance on a referral system to sustain payouts, and failure to honour withdrawal requests from subscribers.
SEC, however, strongly advised Nigerians to be wary about investing with Tofro, noting that any person who places such an investment with the entity does so at their own risk.
The notice reads, “The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission has been drawn to the activities of an online platform known as TOFRO.COM (Tofro), which holds itself out as a cryptocurrency trading platform.
“The Commission hereby informs the public that the Tofro is NOT REGISTERED by the Commission either to solicit investments from the public or operate in any other capacity within the Nigerian capital market.
“Investigations have revealed that Tofro’s operations exhibit the typical indicators of a fraudulent Ponzi scheme, including the promise of unusually high returns, heavy reliance on a referral system to sustain pay-outs and failure to honour withdrawal requests from subscribers.
“Accordingly, the public is strongly advised to be wary about investing with Tofro, as any person who places such investment with the entity does so at his/her own risk.
“The Commission similarly reminds potential investors of the need to VERIFY the registration status of investment platforms via the Commission’s dedicated portal: www.sec.gov.ng/cmos before transacting with them.”
The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has received shareholders’ approval to invest $2.5 million or 25% equity stake in the proposed Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank (YIB) — a new investment vehicle designed to provide equity funding to youth-led businesses in Nigeria.
The approval came during the bank’s 8th Annual General Meeting (AGM) which was held in Abuja.
The move is a strategic step aligned with the bank’s broader mission to support Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), job creation and entrepreneurship among Nigeria’s youth.
According to Tony Okpanachi, DBN Managing Director, Youth Entrepreneurship Investment (YIB) is not a conventional bank. It is an investment vehicle that will deploy equity into promising youth-owned enterprises.
“This is about backing ideas and unlocking growth through long-term capital — not debt,” Okpanachi told journalists after the AGM.
The initiative is a partnership between DBN, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), and the African Development Bank (AfDB), with additional backing expected from development finance institutions.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is currently in discussion to provide debt financing, which would bolster the capital available to the vehicle without diluting equity.
“This $2.5 million is DBN’s initial stake,” Okpanachi said. “We are co-investing alongside NSIA, and this sets the stage for broader institutional participation — both local and global.”
YIB aims to fill a critical funding gap in Nigeria’s startup ecosystem. While the country has a vibrant pool of young entrepreneurs, access to early-stage funding remains limited. Many businesses rely on short-term loans or informal capital, which often constrains scalability and long-term planning.
Okpanachi emphasised that YIB’s structure is deliberately designed to avoid the trappings of a traditional bank.
“This is not a commercial bank. It won’t provide loans or open retail accounts. It’s structured purely as an equity-focused investment vehicle, targeting scalable ventures with strong fundamentals and youth ownership”, he noted.
This will be DBN’s second strategic investment following the establishment of its wholly owned impact credit guarantee subsidiary, which offers partial credit guarantees to MSMEs.
Final structuring of YIB is underway. Following the shareholder greenlight, the promoters are now coordinating with the relevant stakeholders to complete incorporation, legal frameworks, and capital mobilisation.
“We expect all groundwork to be finalised by the end of this year. With operations likely to begin by early 2026,” Okpanachi disclosed.
The move comes amid growing concerns over Nigeria’s rising youth unemployment rate.
By investing directly into youth-led businesses, DBN and its partners aim to accelerate job creation, promote innovation, and catalyse broader economic development.
“There’s already strong interest from global players,” the MD noted, though he declined to name institutions due to ongoing negotiations.
“What we are doing is laying the foundation. YIB will serve as a credible, well-structured platform to crowd in institutional capital and scale youth-driven entrepreneurship.”
He added that YIB is not a one-off initiative but part of a long-term strategy to create sustainable investment channels focused on Nigeria’s demographic dividend.
“This is more than a financial transaction,” Okpanachi said. “It is a statement of intent. We believe in the entrepreneurial potential of Nigerian youth — and we are backing that belief with real capital.”
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