E-Financial
Wema Alat Extends Support to SociaLiga League for Third Consecutive Year
Nigeria’s first fully digital bank, ALAT by Wema Bank has renewed its sponsorship of the SociaLiga football league for the third consecutive year.
The semi-professional football league which is in its fifth season kicked off at Digital Bridge Institute, former Nitel Training School, Cappa, Lagos on Saturday, May 22, 2021, with representatives from Wema Bank in attendance.
SociaLiga football league is an annual tournament created in 2014 and endorsed by the Lagos State Football Association (LSFA).
The league is aimed at providing a platform for young Nigerians to cultivate and satisfy their sporting interests while networking with others and participating in fun activities.
In its six years of existence, SociaLiga has recorded an attendance of over 37,000 individuals who use the exciting activities and colourful atmosphere during the games for social engagement purposes.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league was postponed in 2020. However, for this year’s edition, precautionary measures have been put in place to ensure strict compliance with the anti-COVID-19 guidelines and procedures in order to safeguard the wellbeing of players and attendees at the event.
The six-month tournament will field over 200 football players across 14 teams of which four of these teams are exclusively female. The inclusion of more female teams in this edition was part of the league’s advocacy for increased female participation and representation in the Nigerian football community.
Speaking on the league and ALAT’s renewed sponsorship, Fumilayo Falola, head, marketing, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Wema Bank said, “for the past three years, we have embarked on the journey of passion and excitement with SociaLiga because we are aligned in our vision to give young Nigerians a space that encourages expression, networking and community-building.
“As a socially responsible financial institution, we are committed to building and nurturing a value-driven relationship and in doing so, we are collaborating with SociaLiga to support football and provide a platform for young players to achieve their goals and aspirations.”
Olaniyan Caxton-Martins, managing director of SociaLiga while unveiling the participating teams for this year’s edition acknowledged the impact of ALAT’s three-year sponsorship, “we have received tremendous support from partners like ALAT by Wema Bank, who have been consistent in their sponsorship since they came on board as one of the major partners of this league.
“We sincerely appreciate their support in accelerating SociaLiga’s vision of being the preferred outfit for sporting, lifestyle and entertainment in Africa.”
Since its inception in 2017, ALAT by Wema Bank has actively participated in several youth-friendly initiatives like the GameOn Turf Football Competition, Social Media Week, Moremi Hall Week at the University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, amongst others.
ALAT has also won numerous awards such as the Best Digital Bank and Best Mobile App in Nigeria at the 2017 World Finance Awards; Best Digital Bank in Africa at the 2018 Asian Banker Awards, and many others for its innovation in the banking space.
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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