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CBN Alerts Nigerians of Fake SWIFT Messages for Funds Transfer

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CBN Ways and Means

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Members of the public have been warned of the rising fraudulent foreign currency transfer claims with the use of SWIFT MT103, SWIFT Ack copy and others.

This alarm was raised in a statement signed by the Acting Director for Corporate Communications of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, on Tuesday night.

She stated that in recent times, the apex bank had been “inundated with claims by private entities, individuals, law firms and government agencies that foreign currency funds allegedly transferred to them by foreign entities have yet to be credited to their accounts with Nigerian banks.”

“In some instances, the claimants alleged that the funds were withheld by either the beneficiary bank in Nigeria or the CBN and requested the assistance of the bank towards releasing the funds to them,” she narrated.

But she noted that when such cases were looked into, it was discovered that most of the SWIFT Ack copy and SWIFT MT103 usually attached as evidence of remittance to beneficiary banks in Nigeria were not reliable.

According to her, the SWIFT messages are always not traceable on the SWIFT platform, and the funds have not been received to enable their application to the beneficiary’s account.

The statement explained that, “In a situation where a fund transfer beneficiary’s receiving bank claims non-receipt of funds remitted by the foreign entity (sending customer), instead of escalating such issue to CBN or Law Enforcement Agencies, the standard practice is for the sending customer to contact the sending bank to send a tracer to trace where the fund is hanging and recall it.”

“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state emphatically that the CBN neither provides correspondent banking services for Nigerian banks in foreign payments nor maintains accounts for private business entities. Consequently, petitioners’ claim that the alleged expected inflows for onward credit into the accounts of private business entities are trapped in the CBN is not only spurious but deceitful.”

“The general public is therefore advised to be careful with such unauthentic SWIFT messages and documents containing spurious claims of non-application of substantial foreign currency funds allegedly transferred into the beneficiary’s account.

“The CBN will not hesitate to report any bank customer making unsubstantiated and illegitimate claims to law enforcement agencies for investigation and prosecution,” the statement said.

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Ecobank Assures Customers of 24-Hour Digital Banking Access at Yuletide

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Ecobank Back2School loans

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Customers of Ecobank Nigeria Limited have been assured of seamless digital banking services during the year-end festivities but warned to remain vigilant against fraudsters during this time.

The lender in a statement said customers would continue to enjoy uninterrupted banking solutions throughout the holiday season through Ecobank cards, the Ecobank Mobile app, USSD code *326#, Ecobank Online, Ecobank OmniPlus, Ecobank Omnilite, EcobankPay, Ecobank RapidTransfer, ATMs, and PoS terminals.

The Head of Consumer Banking at Ecobank Nigeria, Mrs Adeola Ogunyemi, highlighted the bank’s long-standing commitment to digital transformation, which aims to improve customer experience and provide alternative access to banking services.

Focusing on the Ecobank Mobile app, she noted that it offers a convenient, round-the-clock banking experience, allowing customers to perform transactions anytime, anywhere, directly from their mobile devices.

Available for download on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, the app enables users to manage accounts, send money, pay bills, buy airtime, pay merchants, and send money across the 33 countries where Ecobank operates.

Businesses also benefit from seamless transactions during the holiday season through the Ecobank Omni Lite app. Designed to enhance productivity and streamline cash flow management, the app offers account services, payments, collections, liquidity management, and customizable reports.

The app supports faster processing of instructions, including mass payments, with customizable system settings such as language and time zone preferences.

Mrs Ogunyemi concluded by reaffirming Ecobank’s ongoing efforts to deliver convenient digital banking solutions, ensuring that individuals can easily open and manage bank accounts, make payments, and send remittances, all through the Bank’s wide range of self-service options.

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We’re Committed to Partnerships to Drive Sustainable Growth—Access Bank

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Access Bank Hosts President Steinmeier

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The chief executive of Access Bank Plc, Mr Roosevelt Ogbonna, has expressed the commitment of the company to building partnerships that drive sustainable growth.

Speaking when the lender hosted the President of Germany, Mr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in Lagos last week, he said the organisation will always leverage its deep expertise in cross-border banking and market integration to the advantage of its customers.

“Nigeria’s position as Germany’s second-largest trading partner in Africa reflects the mutual benefits of this relationship.

“By leveraging our deep expertise in cross-border banking and market integration, Access Bank is committed to building partnerships that drive sustainable growth, innovation, and economic advancement across the continent,” Mr Ogbonna said while addressing stakeholders at a roundtable organised to welcome the German leader.

Last week, Mr Steinmeier made his first official visit to Nigeria and was welcomed by President Bola Tinubu.

President Steinmeier’s visit showcased Germany’s commitment to fostering economic partnerships in the region.

His Lagos agenda featured a landmark visit to Access Bank, as well as engagements with Nigerian startup founders and German-Nigerian business representatives to explore opportunities for trade and investment.

A central feature of the engagement at Access Bank was a business roundtable hosted by Access Bank’s leadership team and its German Desk.

The roundtable brought together German and Nigerian stakeholders, with discussions focused on two key areas: finance and energy, both of which are crucial to bolstering economic growth and innovation in the region.

President Steinmeier also received remarks from Roland Siller, CEO of DEG (German Development Bank), who elaborated on the financial synergies and products DEG provides to German and Nigerian businesses alike.

Access Bank’s German Desk, led by Sebastian Barroso da Fonseca, marked its sixth anniversary this year and has become a cornerstone for German and European businesses operating in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Desk has provided critical support to over 100 clients, offering end-to-end financial solutions, including local funding facilitation, cash management, and seamless repatriation of funds to corporate headquarters. With operations spanning Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, South Africa, and beyond, the Desk has played an instrumental role in enabling businesses to navigate complex financial landscapes in Africa.

The engagement concluded with a Networking Reception at Access Bank’s headquarters, where delegates and stakeholders had the opportunity to engage and strengthen ties further.

Despite global challenges, Africa remains the fastest-growing economic region, with its GDP rising by 30 per cent over the past decade and average annual growth rates exceeding 5 per cent.

As a key player in the continent’s economic outlook, Nigeria continues to attract interest from global investors, and Germany has emerged as a critical economic partner in this regard.

Access Bank has strategically positioned itself as a gateway for trade and investment, leveraging its growing international footprint across 24 countries in Africa, Europe, and Asia to facilitate cross-border collaboration.

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Ecobank, Afreximbank Simplify Trade, Compliance for African Businesses

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Ecobank single market trade hub

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The duo of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Ecobank Group has joined forces to enable African businesses to benefit from seamless shared services.

Based on the deal, the two organisations will integrate their respective platforms, the Single Market Trade Hub of Ecobank and the MANSA Digital Repository Platform of Afreximbank for smooth trade and compliance.

It was gathered that users of the Single Market Trade Hub would easily leverage MANSA’s comprehensive database for efficient know-thy-customer (KYC) and customer due diligence (CDD) checks while MANSA platform users would, in turn, be able to directly connect to the Single Market Trade Hub to explore trade opportunities to expand their businesses across Africa.

This collaboration will enable Ecobank and Afreximbank to provide a central solution to the key challenge of KYC compliance and access to business across 35 countries in Africa.

The improved interoperability is expected to further streamline cross-border trade and compliance in Africa, fostering greater financial and economic integration on the continent.

The Ecobank Single Market Trade Hub connects registered businesses across Africa on a single platform, helping them benefit from opportunities in the unified market of 1.4 billion people created by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

It serves as a one-stop repository for the AfCFTA by providing small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) and corporates with insights about the agreement while its online match-making feature enables importers and exporters to upload their profiles and showcase goods and services they offer, or wish to source, with the aim of finding partners within Africa.

Once a match is found, connections are made via the platform and the transaction can be concluded by leveraging Ecobank’s trade and payment solutions in 35 African markets.

The MANSA Digital Repository Platform is a one-stop-shop for due diligence matters on all African entities.

As a centralised digital repository, MANSA seeks to eliminate information asymmetry and to increase intra-African trade and trade with the rest of the world.

It drives and promotes good governance culture among African SMEs and creates visibility for their businesses while also supporting African entities to expand, diversify and add value to their export products at both the local and international levels.

Entities onboarded unto MANSA are allotted an Africa Entity Identifier (AEI) code which enables them to leverage other Afreximbank products and initiatives.

MANSA is also a key digital solution at the Africa Trade Gateway (ATG) marketplace which houses a suite of digital platforms designed as a single window to enable Afreximbank to better deliver on its mandate, providing critical services to support and promote intra-African trade and the implementation of the AfCFTA.

The platform enables African entities to accelerate their business activities at the ATG marketplace by working with verified information on trusted counterparties.

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