E-Financial
Winners Emerge in Heritage Bank’s ‘YNSPYRE’, Cream Platform Promo
Winners have emerged at the Heritage Bank Plc, ‘YNSPYRE’ Cream Platform Promo held in Abuja.
CREAM Platform, Nigeria’s premiere creative reward platform officially kicked off its partnership with Heritage Bank’s YNSPYRE Initiative with the commencement of the CREAM Monthly draws on Friday – March 26th 2021, rewarding subscribers who dialed the *745*463# code, with lots of cash and other prizes.
The CREAM YNSPYRE Draw proper started off on a great note with random picking of numbers electronically and with some never-to-be-forgotten moments producing 5 winners who went home with the sum of N200, 000 each as well as a pledge by D’Banj to fully support their businesses and passion in a call session from D’banj to the lucky winners.
Recently, Heritage Bank doled out the sum of N1million to Damilola Adeyemi, a winner of an online giveaway competition to celebrate the bank’s product, Ynspyre ambassador, D’banj, which heralds launching of the Ynspyre Account set aside for talented young Nigerians in the different spectrum of the creative and entertainment industry.
At the draw held on Friday in Abuja, five winners were chosen from a pool of Heritage Bank’s customers that are currently on the Cream Platform and subscribers who dialed the *745*463# code for transactions.
The Cream Platform is chaired by popular Nigerian musician D-Banj (real name Oladapo Oyebanjo).
The event was attended by the Heritage Bank Regional Executive, Abuja and North, Mr George Okoh-Oboh; popular Nollywood Actress Tonto Dikeh; popular musician Mr Easi (real name Isaiah Ediae) and other top officials of the bank.
Speaking at the event, Okoh-Oboh described the partnership between Heritage Bank and Cream Platform as a game changer for the creative industry in Nigeria.
He said, “It’s been a smooth journey and the Bank has also set aside certain funds for the creative industry because we believe that is needed to support our youths.
“And so what we have done is to be able to put this out there so that we can select very talented youths working with D-Banj and once they meet certain criteria, we will be able to lend across to them as a bank.
“So the funds have already been set out and waiting this launch which we are having today. So it’s quite an interesting story for the bank and it’s a great day for us today.
In his comments at the draw, D-Banj who was physically present at the event, said that the Cream Platform has built a strong reputation for producing some of the brightest talents in the country over the last couple of years.
He said the purpose of the platform was to have a creative hub for Africa where people can upload their contents, be discovered and get funding support from Heritage Bank.
He said the platform would enable Nigerians discover their talents in areas such as entertainment, entrepreneurship, music, arts and other areas in the creative industry value chain.
He expressed optimism that the creative industry, if properly harnessed, has the potentials to reduce the level of unemployment in the country, boost wealth creation for the people and help the country generate the much needed foreign exchange.
He noted that with the creative industry accounting for one of the highest exports from Nigeria, time has come for operators in the sector to be supported with the finances.
He said, “This year will make it five years that the platform was launched and our main aim is to create a gateway to the creative hub of Africa. With so much talent in the country and the hub in the continent, we saw it as a platform for people to have that access to become whatsoever you desire.
“And it’s no news that Heritage Bank is our partner to provide the access and financial help that you will need.
The creative industry is one of the biggest exports in the last three years now whether you are looking at music, fashion, movies. But we need that financial help, that financial backing.
“So for a long time, we have been discussing with Heritage Bank to see how we can get the funds and get that help to the people.
“And today is going to be the first time that we are actually rewarding the customers. Heritage Bank went further to help us create the ‘YNSPYRE’ Product.
“This product is for the youths and the creative industry to help ease access to funding contents uploaded on the Cream Platform.”
In her comments, Dikeh urged D-Banj and the Bank to create more awareness about the product to enable many people to take advantage of the initiative.
She said as an advocate of youth empowerment, the initiative would help to harness the potentials if the youths and stimulate the much needed development of the creative industry.
Some of those that won at the digital draw such as Blessing (An Entreprenuer), Justice Isaac Precious (A footballer and musician) and John (A Caterer) expressed joy for emerging winners.
They also commended the bank and D-Banj for the coming up with the initiative.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has waived the 2025 licence renewal fee for all bureaux de change (BDC) operators.
Jonah Onojah, director of the financial policy and regulation department, announced that the waiver took immediate effect.
“This is to inform all existing bureaux de change that further to the Regulatory and Supervisory Guidelines for Bureau De Change Operations in Nigeria, 2024, and the ongoing transition to the new BDC regulatory structure, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the waiver of 2025 licence renewal fee, effective immediately,” the statement reads.
“Any bureau de change that has paid for 2025 licence renewal is hereby advised to apply to the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Central Bank of Nigeria for refund to its account from which the payment emanated.
“The CBN remains committed to fostering stability, transparency, and efficiency in the foreign exchange market while ensuring that operators align with the revised regulatory framework,” the statement said.
On May 22, 2024, CBN approved new guidelines for BDC operations to improve compliance and oversight.
In the guideline, CBN said all existing BDCs are to re-apply for a new licence according to any of the tiers or licence categories of their choice.
CBN said the guidelines are part of its efforts to re-position the BDC market to play its envisioned role in the foreign exchange market in Nigeria.
PalmPay, a Mobile Money Operator and digital payment platform has reaffirmed its role as a mobile payment provider, correcting the insinuation that it is a loan App.
Chika Nwosu, Chief Executive Officer, PalmPay, speaking at a press conference in Lagos clarified that PalmPay’s core mission is to provide seamless payment solutions and financial services, not to issue loans.
This clarification became necessary against erroneous messages in some social media platforms that the PalmPay is a loan App, as well as individuals wearing PalmPay-branded clothing allegedly been involved in arresting loan defaulters, raising concerns about the company’s role in debt recovery practices.
He explained that all lending activities on its platform are conducted by third-party financial institutions leveraging its ecosystem, not PalmPay itself.
“PalmPay is not a loan App. We provide a platform for third-party financial institutions to offer their services, including loans, to our users. These institutions operate independently and comply with all regulatory requirements,” Nwosu explained.
More so, Chika Nwosu identified smartphone penetration, internet connectivity and innovative technologies as key factors that are crucial to increased access to mobile money services in Nigeria.
According to him, with smartphone penetration projected to reach 65% by 2026 as well as improved internet infrastructure, more Nigerians will be enabled to access mobile money services.
He disclosed that, with fintech companies such as PalmPay evolving through digital wallets and seamless payment gateways, accessibility to mobile money service was bound to expand soon.
He emphasized that with demand for affordability of financial services growing, more opportunities would be unlocked for PalmPay in the nearest future.
“From under 10,000 agents in 2015 to over 1.5 million agents in 2023, agent networks have become the backbone of mobile money operations in Nigeria. For this reason, we are more likely to see a sharp increase in the number of mobile money agents and merchants. Apart from that, MMOs will increasingly use artificial intelligence to improve customer experiences, such as machine learning, predictive analytics, and fraud detection,” he said.
Donald Ubeh, Head, Risk and Compliance, MLRO at PalmPay, while highlighting the impact of fintech companies such as PalmPay, explained that the coming of PalmPay has led to economic empowerment particularly for individual users and several Small and Medium Scale enterprises.
He noted that many Nigerians including bank customers have migrated their funds to PalmPay owing to convenience and accessibility it provides.
He added that mobile money operators were conceived with the aim of driving financial inclusion for the underserved and unbanked population.
According to EFInA, increasing adoption of fintech companies by Nigerians has led to increase in financial inclusion rate by 13% in 13 years.
Moneipoint has denied reports that Moniepoint MFB, its microfinance bank, was hacked and some N1.1 billion allegedly stolen.
Moniepoint, in a blog post said that the report, which began on social media was malicious and misleading and should be ignored.
According to the company, the alleged theft gained traction on social media, alleging that the company is facing operational challenges due to the hack.
“We categorically state that these claims are untrue, and we urge the public to disregard them in their entirety.
Moniepoint MFB has always maintained the highest standards for digital security and customer fund protection.
It stated that as a duly authorised and licensed financial institution, customer deposits with Moniepoint MFB are insured by Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) supervising and regulating its operations to ensure adherence to all applicable standards.
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