Banking
Olusola Ezekiel Wins N1m in Skye Bank’s Reward Promo
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A customer of Skye Bank Plc, Olusola Olusegun Ezekiel, has emerged the first winner and millionaire of the draw of the Bank’s flagship ‘Reach for the Skye Millionaire reward promo’ season II which held on Thursday in Lagos.
The draw precisely took place in Ikorodu, which was witnessed by the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Kabiru Shotobi.
During the draw, 40 other customers of the bank also walked away with consolation cash reward of N100,000 for 10; and N50,000 to another 10 customers, while 20 loyal customers won N20,000 with new customers who opened account at the venue winning consolation gift like blenders, standing fan and electric iron among other gift items.
The draw, which attracted mammoth crowd of passers-by and customers of the bank at the popular Benson Bus-Stop, Behind BRT Motor Park in Ikorodu, Lagos State, saw the winner who incidentally is a customer of Skye Bank at the Ikorodu main branch of the Bank, emerged through an open and transparent electronic ballot.
The traditional ruler while giving sharing his personal story endorsed Skye Bank for its commitment at financial inclusion, building entrepreneurs’ and empowering SME.
He recollected how Skye Bank has encouraged him to save and later gladly advanced him overdraft facility from which he went on to record success and sustainable profit “and I have since remained a customer of the Bank till date, vouching for the integrity and responsiveness of staff and management of the and Bank while urging his subject and Nigerians to continue to patronize Skye which he described as a ‘truly Nigerian brand.”
Skye Bank Plc, which is one of the fastest growing retail banks in Nigeria, is using the ‘Reach for the Skye Millionaire’ promo to reward customers for their loyalty.
Season I of the Reward Scheme produced over 37 millionaires, 48 customers won N250, 000 and over a 120 customers went home with N100, 000 each plus other household consolation prizes.
According the Bank’s Group Head, Retail, Mr Ndubuisi Osakwe, “to participate in the draw, all you need as a customer or prospects, is to open any Skye savings account and make a minimum deposit of ten thousand naira. If you already have a Skye savings account, with additional deposit amounting up to N10, 000 minimum, you stand a chance of becoming our next millionaire”.
He added that: “The more additional ten thousand naira you have in your account, the more your chances to be one of the customers to be rewarded with one million naira and lots of consolation prizes. Other available cash prizes, according to Osakwe “are N100, 000 for 10 customers and N50, 000 to another 10 customers while 20 loyal customers will win N20, 000 every month.”
He reiterated that new accounts opened at the draw venue stand a chance of winning our instant gifts on the spot!”
The Banker further explained that “the first 200 re-activated accounts on a monthly basis will also enjoy our free gift of recharge cards. Other gift items provided to be given out as consolation prizes at tomorrow’s draw include: a table top fridge; a Generator; Table top gas cookers; Mobile phones; Blenders; Recharge cards and Table Top Gas Cooker.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Eligible innovators, financial institutions, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), financial technology (fintech) companies, and technology firms have been invited to apply for the second cohort of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Regulatory Sandbox Programme.
A statement signed by the acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Department of the apex bank, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, disclosed that entries opened on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, and will close on Monday, August 31, 2026.
Cohort 2 of the initiative introduces two dedicated testing tracks to support emerging technologies with the potential to strengthen Nigeria’s financial system while upholding high standards of consumer protection, financial stability, and market integrity.
According to the central bank, the two tracks are VASP and Data-Enabled Financial Services (Non-VASP).
VASP track is to support innovative virtual asset, stablecoin, payment, settlement, custody, wallet, and related financial infrastructure solutions that require supervised live testing, while the non-VASP track supports innovations that leverage secure digital infrastructure and permission-based data sharing to improve financial inclusion, payments, credit, risk management, operational efficiency, and consumer outcomes.
The CBN Regulatory Sandbox provides a controlled environment in which eligible participants may test innovative financial products, services, business models, and enabling technologies under the supervision of the CBN.
The programme enables the CBN and innovators to engage constructively throughout the testing process, supporting regulatory learning while encouraging responsible innovation that benefits consumers and the wider financial system.
Eligible organisations whose proposed innovations fall within the programme’s scope are encouraged to apply.
Applications will be assessed based on the level of innovation, readiness for controlled live testing, potential consumer or market benefit, governance arrangements, risk management capability, and the suitability of the proposed testing plan.
Successful participants will undertake supervised testing within clearly defined parameters agreed with the CBN, including appropriate safeguards for consumer protection, operational resilience, cybersecurity, and regulatory reporting.
The central bank emphasised that participation in the scheme does not constitute a licence, authorisation, or approval to operate outside the approved testing parameters.
It noted that the Sandbox is intended to facilitate responsible experimentation, strengthen regulatory engagement, and support evidence-based policy development in line with the CBN’s statutory mandate.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The international spending limit on the GTBank Naira card has been increased by the financial institution to $40,000.
This information was revealed by the lender in an email to customers on Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
The banking subsidiary of GTCO Plc disclosed that the new offshore spending limit is for a quarter.
This development comes as the Nigerian foreign exchange (FX) market is witnessing stability against the United States Dollar.
The forex volatility experienced a few years ago has eased, allowing companies and others to plan within a reasonable exchange rate band.
“The Dollar limit on your GTBank Naira Card is now $40,000 quarterly,” the tier-1 commercial bank said in the message sighted by Business Post.
Improvement in forex liquidity in the domestic FX ecosystem has allowed Nigerians to use their local cards to complete financial transactions on foreign platforms, which was not possible a few years ago because of Dollar scarcity and arbitrage.
At the official market on Tuesday, the exchange rate closed at N1,364/$1. It was exchanged at N1,367/$1 at the GTBank FX desk and N1,395/$1 at the parallel market.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) is investigating the University of Lagos, Lotus Bank, and Hackerbella Limited over alleged violations of data protection laws.
The probe followed public complaints alleging that students’ personal data was used to open bank accounts without a lawful basis.
The NDPC disclosed this in a statement signed by its Head of Legal, Enforcement and Regulations, Mr Babatunde Bamigboye, on behalf of the commission.
According to the commission, its chief executive, Mr Vincent Olatunji, directed the investigation team to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the circumstances surrounding the collection, use and disclosure of the affected students’ personal data.
The investigation will also determine the roles and responsibilities of the university, the bank, and the information technology solutions firm in the alleged data processing activities.
The NDPC said the probe would assess the compliance obligations of the three organisations under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, as well as the potential risks posed to the rights and freedoms of the affected students.
The commission said the investigation would cover several areas, including Data Protection Impact Assessments, the lawfulness and transparency of credit scoring or profiling activities, automated decision-making systems, privacy notices and data-sharing arrangements.
It will also examine the lawful bases for processing the students’ information, data minimisation, purpose limitation, retention policies and the adequacy of technical and organisational safeguards for protecting data subjects’ rights.
The commission stressed that institutions handling the personal information of students, staff and other members of their communities have a greater responsibility to ensure such data is properly protected.
“Institutions entrusted with the personal data of students, staff and other members of their communities have a heightened responsibility to ensure that such data is processed lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely,” the NDPC said.
The commission also warned educational institutions that have yet to comply with its existing data protection directives to take immediate steps to meet the required standards.
“Accordingly, the NDPC warns educational institutions that are yet to comply with its existing data protection compliance directives to do so immediately,” the statement added.
