Banking
Electronic Payment Volumes Drop 1.1% in August
By Adedapo Adesanya
Electronic payment volumes in Nigeria witnessed a 1.1 per cent decline in the month of August to 397.9 million from 402.3 million in July.
According to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), the value of e-payment transactions also suffered a colossal N190 billion loss, falling to N23.97 trillion from N24.16 trillion a month earlier.
The value of NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) also suffered a slight 1.2 per cent dip from N22.4 trillion in July to N22.13 trillion in August, while the volume of NIP transactions depreciated by 0.1 per cent month-on-month to 293.98 million from 294.3 million.
Also, Point of Sale (PoS) transactions in the country suffered a 7.4 per cent decline as the volume of PoS transactions carried out during the month was 75.6 million compared to 81.6 million transacted in the preceding month.
According to reports, this was coincidentally the lowest PoS volume in six months despite a 3.9 per cent rise in registered PoS terminals.
In addition, the value of PoS transactions for the month fell by 8.9 per cent or N49.8 billion to N504.9 billion from N554.7 billion recorded in July.
The reduction seen across these outlets can be attributed to prices of consumer goods which have continued to increase despite annual inflation in the country recording a consecutive month drop to its current 17.38 per cent.
The effect of inflation is that it essentially reduces the purchasing power of Nigerians as they struggle to cut spending to cope with the harsh economic realities, combined with the 33 per cent unemployment rate and rising food prices.
It was not all bad in the month of August as some improvements with Mobile Interscheme enjoying an increase in the value of transactions, rising by 8.1 per cent or N54.2 million to hit N719.4 billion from N665.2 billion in July. The volume of transactions also increased by 3.9 to 26.6 million from 25.6 million.
Cheque transactions also witnessed an increase, rising by 6.3 per cent to N265.4 billion from N248.6 billion, while the volume also improved by 6.2 per cent to 366,002 from 344,621.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Global financial payments giant, Visa, has made a strategic investment of $10 million in Nigerian fintech unicorn, Moniepoint, to expand its services and deepen financial inclusion on the African continent.
This development comes three months after Moniepoint raised $110 million in a Series C funding round that made the company a unicorn.
With the new play, Visa joins other investors, including Development Partners International, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod Capital, Lightrock, QED Investors, Novastar Ventures, British International Investment (BII), FMO (the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank), Global Ventures and Endeavor Catalyst as equity partners.
This partnership will combine Moniepoint’s local expertise and innovative business model with Visa’s global resources and capabilities to offer payment solutions to businesses and entities.
Moniepoint provides banking and payment services to small and medium businesses and retail banking. It is one of the market leaders in Nigeria’s agent banking space, with over 300,000 POS agents and has processed billions of transactions since it was founded in 2015.
The new Visa’s investment will further help Moniepoint expand its services and deepen financial inclusion on a continent that still has a comparatively low rate of financial services adoption.
Moniepoint will leverage Visa’s Cybersource system to gain better visibility into transactions. Additionally, it plans to integrate with Visa Direct for remittances and money transfers as it looks to expand into markets within and outside Africa.
Speaking on the move, Mr Tosin Eniolorunda, Founder and Group CEO of Moniepoint said, “Visa’s backing is a strong endorsement of our vision to digitize and support African businesses at scale.
“We aim to deepen financial inclusion, enabling SMEs to access the tools and resources they need to thrive in an increasingly digital economy.”
On his part, Mr Andrew Torre, Regional President, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at Visa, noted that, “Moniepoint has built an impressive platform that directly addresses the needs of Africa’s SMEs, a critical segment in enabling economic development.
”By making financial services and digital payments more accessible and efficient, Moniepoint is helping transform how businesses operate in Nigeria and beyond.
“We are excited to support their next phase of growth and innovation,” he added.
By Dipo Olowookere
Efforts are being made by the management of a rapidly growing financial technology (fintech) company,
Bankit Microfinance Bank (MFB), to grow its loan and gaming services.
The firm said this is one of its targets for 2025 to solidify its position as a leading platform for comprehensive, simplified banking activities after it recorded remarkable growth in 2024 with different milestones as a result of its competitive edge and cutting-edge technology.
The digital financial services provider said it was already talking to its various partners on how to ensure customers get more access to credit facilities for different needs.
It said nothing would be spared to revolutionise digital banking in Nigeria, especially with a focus on innovation, customer protection, and financial inclusion.
Last year, Bankit MFB, within its first few weeks of operations, successfully registered over 50,000 users on its platform, a testament to its innovative simple banking approach to digital banking.
This year, the small lender has an ambitious plan to increase this by 900 per cent to a record 500,000 businesses in 2025.
Business Post gathered that in 2024, the financial institution recorded impressive transaction values, exceeding N100 million, with an impressive 90 per cent transaction success rate.
Since joining the business, it has introduced web banking and other innovative banking products, with more in development.
With the financial services sector not immune to fraud, Bankit MFB said it prioritises the protection of customers’ funds, expressing its commitment to diversifying its digital services to enhance customer experience.
Bankit MFB is a financial institution licenced to operate in the country by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which is dedicated to providing innovative, customer-centric financial solutions to individuals and others.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, launch a foreign exchange (FX) code designed to boost the integrity of the market.
A statement from the banking sector regulator on Wednesday said the FX code would be unveiled at its headquarters in Abuja next week.
It explained the forex code will serve as a guideline for the ethical conduct of FX dealers in the Nigerian forex landscape.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria has approved the release of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (FX) Code as a guideline to the banking industry to promote the ethical conduct of Authorised Dealers in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.
“The bank will formally launch the code at the CBN Head Office Auditorium, Abuja, on Tuesday, January 28, 2025,” the statement read.
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