Banking
Diamond Bank to Reward Customers with N600m
By Dipo Olowookere
A whopping N600 million has been set aside by Diamond Bank Plc to reward its loyal customers in the DiamondXtra Season 9 bonanza.
Activities planned for the season include extra ordinary draws that will produce 3164 lucky winners throughout Q3 2017.
According to information made available to the press, the Bank stated that in the months of July, August and September, N137 million will be given out to lucky customers that will emerge from the draws: 8 millionaires in July and September while 24 millionaires will emerge in August as N1 million will be won by a lucky customer every working day plus loads of other cash prizes.
During this period, 3 lucky customers will be rewarded with salary for life and will receive N100,000.00 every month for the next 20 years.
According to Chioma Afe, Head, Corporate Communications Division, Diamond Bank’s passion and commitment to its customers “is driven by the conviction that making them to save and plan for the future is what sustains the growth and development of any economy”.
She stated that DiamondXtra draws have come a long way in impacting the lives of new and existing customers of the Bank that had participated in the promo over the years.
She added that the draw is a unique customer reward scheme tied to the DiamondXtra account, which aims at promoting savings culture among Nigerians by rewarding them for saving.
She said: “In this Season 9, Diamond Bank is set to create more millionaires in Nigeria by empowering them with the resources to change their lives and, also, be active participators in the economy. Twelve customers would be rewarded with salary for life and will earn N100,000.00 for the next twenty years. That is how much we value our customers and help them shape their future”.
According to her, with a deposit balance of only N5,000 (five thousand naira) a customer is qualified to participate in the draw and multiples of that amount increases the customers chances of winning.
The DiamodnXtra initiative was launched in July 2008 and has produced 5,600 winners with a cumulative cash reward of over N4 billion.
The Season 9 edition promises to be more rewarding as the Bank has reaffirmed its commitment to financially empower more Nigerians by spreading the draws across the six geopolitical zones.
According to Afe, beginning from July 13, 2017 to September 30, 2017, every new and existing customer of the Bank who saves a minimum of N5,000 (five thousand naira) will stand the chance to win any of the prizes, which include salary for life, N1m for 31 customers, N500k for 20 customers, N10k for 600 customers, N500 for 400 customers and free recharge cards for 2000 customers.
The Bank has also introduced a new dimension to the reward scheme where customers are rewarded for loyalty. Customers who have maintained their DiamondXtra accounts for 5 years and above and have increased their balances with multiples of N5000 during this period will qualify for a special Longevity draw where 10 customers will receive N1m each while 100 customers will get N100k each.
According to Afe, a customer stands a better chance of winning if he or she saves more as every N5,000.00 in the account of a customer represents one entry ticket into the draws.
“Every DiamondXtra account customer has equal opportunity of winning in the daily transparent electronic draws. We would like to reassure all our loyal customers that Diamond Bank will constantly seek robust platforms like this not just to enrich them but to let them know that we care for their future wellbeing”, she said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An initiative known as Nigeria Lightning Rounds, designed to expand funding opportunities for Nigerian startups and small businesses by connecting founders with local and international investors, has been launched by ProvidusUnity Bank, in partnership with US-based global venture firm and accelerator, gener8tor.
Scheduled to be held on July 15, 2026, Nigeria Lightning Rounds will feature carefully selected startups engaging with targeted investors who have expressed interest in supporting Nigerian innovation.
Participating founders will have the opportunity to pitch their businesses through focused 15-minute virtual sessions facilitated by gener8tor and ProvidusUnity Bank’s networks.
The program will focus on high-growth sectors including fintech, healthtech, manufacturing, sustainability, and AI, but welcomes SMEs from all industries, with intending participants urged to apply via https://www.gener8tor.com/lightning-rounds/nigeria.
“We recognise that access to capital remains one of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Through our partnership with gener8tor, we are creating a platform that connects promising Nigerian founders with investors who can provide the support required to scale their businesses,” the Head of Business Development at ProvidusUnity Bank, Mr Ernest Elue, stated.
“The partnership reinforces ProvidusUnity Bank’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by supporting innovation, enabling access to opportunities, and creating pathways for businesses with high-growth potential,” he added.
Also commenting, the Director of Lightning Rounds at gener8tor, Ms Elizabeth Larios, said, “gener8tor is thrilled to partner with ProvidusUnity Bank to extend the Lightning Rounds model into Nigeria.
“This collaboration reflects our commitment to building equitable ecosystems and driving capital to the most promising and underrepresented entrepreneurs.”
Lightning Rounds are a signature initiative of gener8tor’s investment platform, which has facilitated thousands of investor-startup meetings globally. The format is optimised to eliminate friction, reduce bias in early-stage fundraising, and help founders secure capital from investors aligned with their mission and stage. gener8tor’s previous Lightning Rounds for Nigerian Founders in 2025 featured 18 participating Investors and led to 50 investment meetings facilitated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The verification of the depositors of the 46 microfinance banks, whose operating licenses were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over a week ago, has commenced.
The exercise, aimed at refunding those whose funds were trapped in the small lenders, is being conducted by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
In a statement on Thursday, the agency said its staff members have been positioned at the offices of the affected banks across the country to attend to depositors.
It was disclosed that depositors of the defunct banks, who had their Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) linked to their accounts in the failed banks, will be paid through their alternative accounts in existing banks.
However, depositors whose BVNs were not linked to their accounts in the failed banks have been encouraged to visit the affected banks’ offices with proof of account ownership, a passport photograph, verifiable means of identification (Driver’s Licence, Permanent Voter’s Card, International Passport or National ID Card) and BVN.
NDIC also stated that depositors can alternatively file their claims online through its website: www.ndic.gov.ng, to complete the Pre-Verification Claims Form by clicking on the Search Bar, and typing Pre-Verification Claims Form; opening the Form and filling in their details. They can also do so by clicking the link: https://ndic.gov.ng/ndic-pre-verification-claims-form/ or by visiting any of the NDIC offices closest to them to file their claims.
For further enquiries, the corporation can be reached on any of the following lines: 09037273810, 09038197064, 08104220807, 09064657140.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) enrolment has slowed significantly in 2026 following the introduction of a stricter regulatory framework by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the latest data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) showing that registrations are on course to fall well below last year’s record.
The BVN database stood at 69.55 million as of July 5, 2026, up from 69.32 million in June, indicating that only 228,947 new registrations were recorded over the period. Since the end of 2025, when the database stood at 67.8 million, total enrolments have increased by 1.75 million.
At the current pace, however, BVN registrations are unlikely to match the 4.3 million new enrolments recorded in 2025, suggesting a sharp deceleration in growth this year.
The slowdown comes after the CBN introduced a revised BVN regulatory framework in March, with the new rules taking effect on May 1, 2026. The framework tightened controls around enrolment, identity verification and fraud monitoring as part of efforts to strengthen the integrity of the banking system.
Among the key changes was the introduction of a minimum enrolment age of 18 years, effectively preventing minors from registering for a BVN.
The new framework also limits customers to a one-time change of the phone number linked to their BVN and requires financial institutions to place BVNs linked to suspected fraudulent transactions on a temporary watch-list for up to 24 hours while investigations are carried out.
The stricter rules contrast with last year’s surge in registrations, which was largely driven by the introduction of the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN) initiative that enabled Nigerians in the diaspora to complete BVN enrolment remotely, removing physical barriers and expanding access to the financial system.
Launched on February 14, 2014, the BVN scheme was introduced by the CBN in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, NIBSS and German technology firm Dermalog to assign every bank customer a unique biometric identity that can be verified across Nigeria’s banking industry.
