E-Financial
Oradian, TAB Finance Join Forces to Boost Financial Inclusion
TAB Finance, a new microfinance bank licensed by the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea, joins Oradian’s global community of visionary financial institutions.
With this strategic partnership, Oradian is expanding its presence in West Africa. TAB Finance is now enabled to boost financial inclusion in remote, hard-to-reach communities through Oradian’s toolset.
Microfinance institutions in frontier markets across West Africa are leapfrogging legacy systems and deciding to implement solutions that provide world-class best practices.
Digitalisation is increasingly important because it offers fintech providers such as mobile money apps the capacity to integrate with core banking systems. With its cloud-based solution, Oradian is driving the digitalisation of its customers so that they can offer their services to the unbanked more efficiently.
Oradian’s cloud-based core banking system enables financial institutions in West Africa to become more efficient with digital operations, make informed decisions and grow without incremental costs. With cloud banking technology, microfinance institutions are able to increase the number of clients they can service, expand their rural reach and further drive financial inclusion.
Mamadou Alpha Balde, Managing Director of TAB Finance commented on TAB Finance’s collaboration with Oradian saying: “We recognised that Oradian provides cloud-based solutions relevant to the operations of our financial institution. We chose Oradian as TAB Finance’s digital strategy partner because Oradian is experienced across African markets, offers global best practice and shares our mission. We look forward to increasing operational efficiencies and enhancing our security.”
Oradian’s teams based in Lagos, Nigeria and Accra, Ghana work with financial institutions through each step of their digital transformation: from data migration, training and implementation, to routine check-ins and continuous improvement. Cloud banking is eliminating manual processes and automating reporting, which enables financial institutions to access the live data they need to know control their portfolios.
Onyeka Adibeli, Oradian’s Co-founder and Programme Director for Africa said, “In TAB Finance and their visionary leaders, we found mission-aligned partners who are committed to financial inclusion. With Oradian and initiatives from local government, TAB Finance will be enabled to overcome some of the major challenges of the microfinance sector and serve more clients across West Africa.”
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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