E-Financial
SEC Introduces Investor’s Data, Consent Form to Curb Identity Theft
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has developed a standardized Investor’s Data and Consent Form to be adopted by all Capital Market Operators, in a bid to address challenges associated with identity management in the capital market.
SEC explained that the form will assist CMOs in collecting and updating investors data and enable them to obtain consent of investors for implementing capital market initiatives targeted at improving overall experience and participation in the capital market.
Identity theft is the deliberate use of someone else’s identity, usually as a method to gain financial advantage or obtain credit and other benefits in the other person’s name, and perhaps to the other person’s disadvantage or loss.
Ms Mary Uduk, acting director general of SEC, stated that identity management has been a problem not just in the capital market but in many sectors of Nigeria’s economy, but assured that the SEC was handling it in the capital market.
“We are handling it, and that is why we came up with that form, that form has been exposed and we have asked the Capital market operators and other stakeholders to give us their comments on that form.
“We want to get as much information as we need from investors to be able to use it in the right way while also protecting that information,” she said.
Ms Uduk expressed the commitment of the commission to identify investors properly so as to guard against flow of illicit funds into the capital market.
“We need to identify our investors. We need to know who is putting money in our market and who is not. That will also help us to take care of money laundering and other vices and people we don’t want in our market.
“That form is out there and we expect every stakeholder to look at it and make comments and other capital market operators so that we can use it to get information from investors and that information would be stored in data base protected under the law and used to ensure that we have unique identifier investors,” she said.
“For example, years ago, before the global financial crisis, there was lack of good identity management in the market and that made it easy for some people to buy stocks using multiple identities when companies were doing IPOs at that time.
“What has happened now is that we find it difficult to reconcile ownership of these stocks. That is why we have a window open right now for people who got stocks in multiple identities to regularise them,” she added.
The SEC boss, however, warned that the SEC would no longer tolerate investors buying stocks in fake names, terming it as illegal.
She added that the window of opportunity is still open for such investors to regularize their accounts at no penalty, saying that the identity management would assist in ensuring that it does not happen in the future.
The naira appreciated to N1,600 per dollar in the parallel market at the close of trading hours on Monday, strengthening from N1,610 per dollar recorded over the weekend.
Similarly, the naira saw a slight gain in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), trading at N1,605 per dollar compared to N1,606 last Friday, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This represents a marginal N1 appreciation.
As a result, the gap between the parallel market and official exchange rate widened slightly to N5 per dollar, up from N4 over the weekend.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) spent N315.18bn on currency issue expenses in 2024, marking a sharp increase of 306 per cent compared to N77.67bn recorded in 2023, the apex bank’s audited financial statement for the year has shown.
Currency issue expenses cover the printing, processing, distribution, and disposal of banknotes.
The latest figures reveal that the CBN’s cost of managing physical cash spiralled dramatically during the year under review, as Nigeria grappled with lingering cash shortages and disruptions in the money supply chain.
The surge in expenditure came as the country continued to deal with the effects of the naira redesign policy introduced in late 2022.
Despite efforts to stabilise cash circulation throughout 2023, Nigerians still faced queues at ATMs and difficulties in accessing cash in early and late 2024.
Faced with mounting public outcry, the CBN deployed several emergency measures to address the crisis.
Deposit Money Banks were directed to ensure consistent ATM loading and rural cash distribution, while the Bank also launched public hotlines for citizens to report cash scarcity incidents.
Also, the CBN ramped up enforcement efforts, including deploying monitoring teams, issuing sanctions against non-compliant banks, and mandating improved cash distribution.
PalmPay, a full-service digital bank, has reaffirmed its dedication to advancing the future of payments in Nigeria by promoting the widespread adoption of contactless-enabled payment terminals.
This was made known during the recently concluded BusinessDay Future of Payment Conference, themed “Fintech Evolution: Gateway to Payments.” In his welcome address, BusinessDay Publisher, Frank Aigbogun, emphasized that the next phase of fintech innovation must be driven not only by speed, safety, and simplicity but also by trust, inclusion, and accessibility to ensure broad-based impact across all segments of society.
Talking about PalmPay’s impact in the panel session titled “The Next Wave of Digital Payments: Trends and Innovation,” Ifeanyi Uzoka, Senior Business Development Manager at PalmPay, discussed the evolving landscape of digital payments in Nigeria.
He noted that while regulatory frameworks have supported the introduction of contactless payments, the high level of cash dependency remains a key barrier to widespread adoption.
“At PalmPay, financial inclusion is central to everything we do,” Uzoka stated. “To support this mission, we’ve launched contactless-enabled debit and premium cards, ensuring our users have access to convenient and secure payment experiences. We also understand that trust is critical, which is why all contactless transactions on PalmPay’s platform include an additional layer of authentication for enhanced security.”
PalmPay continues to lead innovation in Nigeria’s digital finance ecosystem by delivering secure, user-friendly, and future-ready solutions. The company’s recently launched debit and premium cards in partnership with Verve are now serving its growing base of over 35 million users nationwide.
This move into contactless payments underscores PalmPay’s alignment with global payment trends and its ongoing commitment to building a more inclusive and digitally empowered economy.
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