By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The chief executive of TeamApt Limited, Mr Dennis Ajalie, has called for a robust collaboration in the digital payments ecosystem, saying banks and fintech companies should not see themselves as rivals.

Mr Ajalie said the industry’s regulator, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has delineated what each entity should do and how they should function in creating a successful payment ecosystem that protects consumers and enables businesses, which he admitted to be complementary and not competitive.

Touching on the imperative of borderless transactions and the solutions for implementation concerning the framework, he said, “Borderless transactions have to happen because we’re becoming more interconnected by the day and by the minute.”

“We still have a lot of siloed implementations among key stakeholders and unless we recalibrate our systems, borderless remains beyond our reach and a mirage,” Mr Ajalie stated at the Committee of e-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH) conference in Lagos themed Payment System Vision 2030: Navigating Contemporary Issues in Driving Future Growth.

“There’s the fierce urgency of now that demands that we find solid ways to interconnect, and once we’re able to interconnect within ourselves, reconcile properly, especially on the local front, then we can present a single, unified front that will enable us to push transactions and receive transactions from outside.

“We cannot go forward without fixing these internal challenges,” he added at the event, where he was one of the panellists.

TeamApt, a subsidiary of Moniepoint Incorporated, facilitates payment processing across many industries while enabling reliable payments for banks and their customers while reducing operating costs.

Wrapping up his thoughts, the TeamApt boss reiterated the need for industry-wide collaborations in fighting the menace of fraud.

“If we are able to all share information and collaborate seamlessly, we’ll find out that it becomes disinteresting for these bad faith individuals to use the collective technology commonwealth that we have all built to commit nefarious activities.

“So, it goes back to collaboration among fintechs, the banks, NFIU, infrastructure providers, the telcos, and switches. We’ve all got to come together to say, enough is enough and that this present situation threatens all of us rather than just one of us,” he added.

By Dipo Olowookere

Banking operations at the branches of most financial institutions in Nigeria will end earlier than expected today, Tuesday, December 31, 2024.

The majority of them have sent messages to their customers to inform them of this development.

Business Post sighted some of these notices sent by the banks to their customers via electronic mails (e-mails).

One of them from Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Limited said transactions at its Lagos branches will close for the day and year by 3 pm while in other branches at 2 pm, encouraging customers to use its digital channels for their financial transactions.

“We would like to inform you that all our branches nationwide will close to customers early on Tuesday, December 31, 2024.

“During this period, we encourage you to take advantage of our digital channels for banking needs,” the notice read in parts.

On its part, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc said its branches would close for the day at 2 pm across the nation.

“As we prepare for the New Year celebration, our branches will close by 2 pm on Tuesday, December 31, 2024.

“While our branches take a break, our digital channels, the UBA Mobile Banking, Leo, *919# or internet banking are available 24/7 for all your banking needs.

“Your security is our priority. We will never ask for your BVN, card number, PIN or personal details. Suspect anything fraudulent? Call our Fraud Help Desk,” the message from the lender read.

As for Fidelity Bank Plc, it plans to stop banking services at its branches nationwide today by 2 pm to resume on Thursday, January 2, 2025.

“Please be informed that our branches will close at 2 pm on Tuesday, December 31, 2024, ahead of the New Year holiday.

“As always, our digital channels; Mobile Banking, USSD Bank (*770#), PoS, ATMs, Cards, and Ivy Chat, will be available 24/7 for all banking transactions.

“Please note that normal operations will resume at 8 am on Thursday, January 2, 2025,” the bank said in its message to customers.

By Dipo Olowookere

About N147.5 billion has been raised by the First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Group Plc from a public offer, recording a 33 per cent oversubscription, a statement from the financial institution has confirmed.

This disclosure disclosed that the exercise attracted about 42,800 investors, with 92 per cent subscribing via more convenient digital channels such as the bank’s mobile app and ushering in over 39,000 new investors to the financial services group.

The funds from the public offer will help the banking subsidiary of the company, FCMB Limited, meet the new capital base requirement of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

It was stated that from the N147.5 billion, about N144.6 billion was absorbed through the issuance of 19,802,710,781 ordinary shares at N7.30 per share, bringing total post-offer issued shares to 39,605,421,562 shares.

“We are grateful to our existing shareholders and new investors for coming out strongly to support this offer.

“The success of the public offer reflects significant investor confidence in our strategy and growth potential, as well as trust in the board, leadership, and our people to fulfil our commitments and realise this potential.

“We also extend our profound appreciation to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited for their continued foresight, innovation, guidance, and support, which have been instrumental in achieving this significant milestone.

“This marks an important step forward in our journey to unlock new opportunities, create value for our shareholders, and contribute to the economic growth of Nigeria and Africa.

“We remain committed to executing the subsequent phases of our capital-raising program in 2025,” the chief executive of FCMB, Mr Ladi Balogun, said.

Business Post reports that with new funds raised from the public offer, the capital base of FCMB is now N240 billion, more than the N200 billion requested by the CBN for banks with national licenses, the category the lender falls into.

Banks in Nigeria were given till March 2025 by the banking sector to raise their capital base to meet the $1 trillion economy by $1 trillion by 2030.