Banking
Fidelity Bank Enables Account Opening via Quick Response Code
By Dipo Olowookere
A new first has been scored by Fidelity Bank Plc with a new account opening initiative that enables members of the public to open online savings accounts through a Quick Response (QR) code which can be scanned from any of the promotional materials such as roll up banners, fliers, posters and newspaper adverts.
This novel account opening initiative was launched on Monday, October 8, 2018 by the Nigerian lender known for outstanding ideas.
Also, the financial institution has come up with a new savings promotion campaign aimed at rewarding new and existing customers of the bank.
This is expected to significantly ease the process of enrolment of new accounts and deepen the penetration of the new savings promo tagged Get Alert in Millions Season 3.
During the launch of the initiative, Fidelity Bank’s Executive Director in charge of Shared Services and Products, Mrs Chijioke Ugochukwu, explained that, “This new savings promo is the 8th in 11 years. As with the previous ones, we are motivated to continue to empower our customers by rewarding them with cash and gift items, whilst at the same time promoting the savings culture, in line with the financial inclusion drive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).”
Speaking shortly before formally flagging off the promo, Fidelity Bank CEO, Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo, thanked customers, stating that the bank is motivated to continue to incentivize them for their patronage.
He said it was imperative to acknowledge the contributions of customers to the growing fortunes of the bank.
“Last week, we joined other institutions across the world to observe the 2018 Customer Service Week and I want to use this opportunity to again thank all our customers. Our impressive half year results attest to your support and with your continued patronage, we are on course to delivering on our financial targets for the year,” the bank chief said.
As a customer-centric bank, Mr Okonkwo said Fidelity Bank would continue to leverage technology, in line with its digital retail strategy, to better serve customers, through innovative products, services and solutions.
He reeled our some of the products to include the newly upgraded Fidelity Online Banking, *770# Instant Banking and Flashkey.
“Our online banking solution enables you to transfer foreign exchange seamlessly just as we are the first bank to introduce a chat banking solution that is known as Flashkey.
“This solution enables you to effect monetary transfers whilst on any social media platform, without recourse to the online banking platform installed on your mobile device,” he stated.
GAIM Season 3, as the new savings promo is called, is expected to run for 9 months till June 2019. The bank, within this period will give out over N120 million in cash and consolation prizes, including weekly airtime rewards.
To participate, Head, Retail Banking, Fidelity Bank, Mr Richard Madiebo, said “customers can open a savings account and grow it to N20,000 or top up an existing account with N10,000 or more to qualify for the monthly draws to win N1 million or N2 million.
To qualify for the star prize of N3 million, he explained that customers are expected to grow their account balances by N50,000 monthly whilst accounts that maintain a minimum of N200,000 qualify for the grand prize of a whooping N10 million.
“As a bank with branches across the country, the draws ceremonies will be done to ensure that everybody, irrespective of where their accounts are domiciled, stand equal chances of winning” he explained.
There will be a total of six draws to produce 77 cash and 108 consolation prize winners over the duration of the exercise.
The launch ceremony had in attendance the press, regulatory bodies and some winners from previous savings promotion campaigns.
Mr Gaffar Abdullateef, a previous winner, thanked Fidelity Bank for the N3 million he won in the last promo, saying that it “significantly gave boost to his business.”
Assistant Director, National Lotteries Regulatory Commission, Ms Joy Okuna, praised Fidelity Bank for the transparency displayed in the last promos.
“As regulators, our duty is to ensure that promos are conducted transparently and I must attest to the high degree of transparency that we see with all Fidelity Bank savings campaigns and we expect no less from this,” she stated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The six edition of the Hackaholics of Wema Bank Plc has produced 20 top finalists shared equally between two streams, Ideathon and Hackathon.
The Hackathon finalists are Rapid DEV, Secure IT, Neurafeed, Trust Lock Babcock, Pulse Track, IlluminiTrust, Trust Lock FUTA, Fix Fraud AI, KASH Flow and VOC AI.
The Ideathon finalists include PLOY, Fertitude, VarsityScape, Mama ALERT, StockMed, Chao, All Arbitrate, FarmSlate, Sane AI and Cycle X.
They emerged after a two-day pre-pitch held on December 16 and 17, 2025, for the grand finale slated for Friday, December 19, 2025.
They grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 will convene the top players in Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem, creating an avenue for these finalists to not only put their creativity to the ultimate test but also give their solutions visibility to potential investors for additional funding opportunities beyond the prizes to be won.
The prizes to be won for the Ideathon include N25 million for the winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, N15 million for the second runner-up and N5 million each for two women-led teams.
In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place winners will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million and N5 million, respectively.
The pre-pitch saw the top 43 contenders battle in a game of innovation and problem solving, presenting compelling pitches for a chance to make it to top 10 in their respective streams.
After a rigorous stretch of pitches and presentations, the top 20 emerged, securing their spot in the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0.
“Hackaholics started off as a hackathon and morphed into an ideation. For Hackaholics 6.0, the sixth edition, we decided to give both the builders of new solutions and the refiners of existing ones, an opportunity to make meaningful impact.
“For us at Wema Bank, we understand that innovation isn’t just building from scratch. Sometimes, it’s looking at what exists and developing new ways to optimise that and create more efficiency. This is the idea behind our two-stream Ideathon-Hackathon structure.
“Every year, Hackaholics shows us just how eager and motivated Nigerian youth are when it comes to exploring creativity and innovation, and we are honoured to be the institution that provides them with the platform and resources to put this drive to good use.
“We toured seven cities, indulged 1,460 participants and discovered hundreds of remarkable ideas; some of which needed some refining and some of which deserved to move to the next stage.
“For those who needed to go back to the drawing board, we provided useful guidance and for the top contenders, we were able to shortlist to the top 43, who proceeded to the pre-pitch. To every participant, Wema Bank is proud of you. This is just the beginning,” the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will enforce penalties against designated banks that delay the remittance of customs revenue, in a move aimed at strengthening transparency and safeguarding government earnings.
This was disclosed in a statement on the NCS official account on X, formerly known as Twitter and signed by its spokesman, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, who said the delays undermine the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“The Nigeria Customs Service has noted instances of delayed remittance of customs revenue by some designated banks following reconciliation of collections processed through the B’odogwu platform,” the statement read.
“Such delays constitute a breach of remittance obligations and negatively impact the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“In line with the provisions of the Service Level Agreement executed between the Nigeria Customs Service and designated banks, the Service hereby notifies stakeholders of the commencement of enforcement actions against banks found to be in default of agreed remittance timelines.”
Mr Maiwada disclosed that any bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed timeline will be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the period of the delay.
He added that affected banks would be formally notified of the delayed amounts, the applicable penalty, and the deadline for settlement.
“Accordingly, any designated bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed period shall be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the duration of the delay.
“Affected banks will receive formal notifications indicating the delayed amount, applicable penalty, and the timeline for settlement,” the statement read.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deputy managing director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Limited, Mr Ini Ebong, has offloaded some shares of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent firm of the banking institution.
A regulatory notice from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited confirmed the development on Thursday.
It was disclosed that the transaction occurred on Friday, December 12, 2025, on the floor of the stock exchange.
The sale involved about 11.8 million shares, precisely 11,783,333 units traded at N31.14 per share, amounting to about N366.9 million.
Mr Ebong, who studied Architecture from University of Ife and obtained Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, became the DMD of First Bank in June 2024. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking since January 2022.
He was previously the Group Executive, Treasury and International Banking, a position he held since 2016 after serving as the bank’s Treasurer from 2011 to 2016.
Before joining First Bank, he was the Head of African Fixed Income and Local Markets Trading, Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian registered subsidiary of Renaissance Capital. He also worked with Citigroup for 14 years as Country Treasurer and Sales and Trading Business Head.
He has a passion for market development and has worked actively to drive change and internationalisation of the Nigerian financial markets: foreign exchange, fixed income and securities.
He has worked closely with regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) in assisting with the development of fresh monetary and foreign exchange policies, to broaden and deepen markets and open them up to international practices.
At various times he has facilitated and delivered courses and seminars on a wide variety of subjects covering Money Markets, Securities and Foreign exchange trading and market risk management subjects to regulators, corporate customers, banks and market participants.
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