Banking
First Bank, WorldRemit Make Online Money Transfer Easier
By Dipo Olowookere
In order to make sending money through digital means easier and hassle free for its customers, one of the leading banks in the country, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, has joined forces with WorldRemit, a renowned online money transfer service providing international remittance services to expatriates and migrant workers.
At a media briefing in Lagos on Tuesday, both companies explained that they agreed to work together to make digital money transfer service better.
According to the Deputy Managing Director, First Bank of Nigeria, Mr Gbenga Shobo, the bank had, over the years, taken the lead in providing relevant e-payment options for its customers.
He said the “WorldRemit/First Bank partnership signifies another landmark in First Bank’s virtual payment and money transfer services in the Nigerian and global financial space,” he said on Tuesday at the launch in Lagos.
“We pioneered with Western Union Money Transfer in 1996, then Transfast Money Transfer, MoneyGram, Ria, PayPal, Pay Attitude and now, WorldRemit.
“First Bank has extended its frontiers to WorldRemit in order to leverage the wide e-platform capabilities it offers to further ease the money transfer process for our numerous customers across the globe who seek new and easier payment transaction options regularly,” Mr Shobo said.
According to him, WorldRemit’s mobile-first, digital model complements First Bank’s digital strategy to drive convenient banking transactions from the comfort of homes and offices using the FirstMobile and FirstOnline banking platforms.
“People from some of the 50 countries across the world where WorldRemit operates can now send money directly from their mobile phones into First Bank accounts in Nigeria without visiting brick-and-mortar agent locations, and this is the first of its kind in money transfer business in our country,” he added.
“It is worthy of note that this service is available to senders in 50 countries and over 145 destinations across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas.
“At First Bank, we are excited at this partnership. Our brand promise is to always deliver the ultimate ‘gold standard’ of value and excellence, and this collaboration with WorldRemit is one of the many ways we provide value to our customers as we continue to devise innovative ways to provide convenience and ease of banking for them,” Mr Shobo stated.
On his part, the Regional Head, Middle East and Africa at WorldRemit, Mr Andrew Stewart, the new partnership would considerably expand the company’s footprint in the country, allowing its customers in over 50 countries to send money to First Bank accounts directly from their phones.
He said the deal would support WorldRemit’s plan to serve 10 million customers connected to emerging markets by 2020.
“We are delighted to be partnering First Bank, one of Nigeria’s leading banks, to give its 14 million customers access to our best-in-class money transfer experience. Nigeria remains our largest and fastest growing market in Africa, and WorldRemit’s second biggest market globally.
“This is a key partnership in the country that will further support Nigeria’s transition from offline remittances to online, safer, faster and lower-cost money transfer methods,” Mr Stewart stated at the unveiling of the deal.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The six edition of the Hackaholics of Wema Bank Plc has produced 20 top finalists shared equally between two streams, Ideathon and Hackathon.
The Hackathon finalists are Rapid DEV, Secure IT, Neurafeed, Trust Lock Babcock, Pulse Track, IlluminiTrust, Trust Lock FUTA, Fix Fraud AI, KASH Flow and VOC AI.
The Ideathon finalists include PLOY, Fertitude, VarsityScape, Mama ALERT, StockMed, Chao, All Arbitrate, FarmSlate, Sane AI and Cycle X.
They emerged after a two-day pre-pitch held on December 16 and 17, 2025, for the grand finale slated for Friday, December 19, 2025.
They grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 will convene the top players in Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem, creating an avenue for these finalists to not only put their creativity to the ultimate test but also give their solutions visibility to potential investors for additional funding opportunities beyond the prizes to be won.
The prizes to be won for the Ideathon include N25 million for the winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, N15 million for the second runner-up and N5 million each for two women-led teams.
In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place winners will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million and N5 million, respectively.
The pre-pitch saw the top 43 contenders battle in a game of innovation and problem solving, presenting compelling pitches for a chance to make it to top 10 in their respective streams.
After a rigorous stretch of pitches and presentations, the top 20 emerged, securing their spot in the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0.
“Hackaholics started off as a hackathon and morphed into an ideation. For Hackaholics 6.0, the sixth edition, we decided to give both the builders of new solutions and the refiners of existing ones, an opportunity to make meaningful impact.
“For us at Wema Bank, we understand that innovation isn’t just building from scratch. Sometimes, it’s looking at what exists and developing new ways to optimise that and create more efficiency. This is the idea behind our two-stream Ideathon-Hackathon structure.
“Every year, Hackaholics shows us just how eager and motivated Nigerian youth are when it comes to exploring creativity and innovation, and we are honoured to be the institution that provides them with the platform and resources to put this drive to good use.
“We toured seven cities, indulged 1,460 participants and discovered hundreds of remarkable ideas; some of which needed some refining and some of which deserved to move to the next stage.
“For those who needed to go back to the drawing board, we provided useful guidance and for the top contenders, we were able to shortlist to the top 43, who proceeded to the pre-pitch. To every participant, Wema Bank is proud of you. This is just the beginning,” the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will enforce penalties against designated banks that delay the remittance of customs revenue, in a move aimed at strengthening transparency and safeguarding government earnings.
This was disclosed in a statement on the NCS official account on X, formerly known as Twitter and signed by its spokesman, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, who said the delays undermine the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“The Nigeria Customs Service has noted instances of delayed remittance of customs revenue by some designated banks following reconciliation of collections processed through the B’odogwu platform,” the statement read.
“Such delays constitute a breach of remittance obligations and negatively impact the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“In line with the provisions of the Service Level Agreement executed between the Nigeria Customs Service and designated banks, the Service hereby notifies stakeholders of the commencement of enforcement actions against banks found to be in default of agreed remittance timelines.”
Mr Maiwada disclosed that any bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed timeline will be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the period of the delay.
He added that affected banks would be formally notified of the delayed amounts, the applicable penalty, and the deadline for settlement.
“Accordingly, any designated bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed period shall be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the duration of the delay.
“Affected banks will receive formal notifications indicating the delayed amount, applicable penalty, and the timeline for settlement,” the statement read.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deputy managing director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Limited, Mr Ini Ebong, has offloaded some shares of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent firm of the banking institution.
A regulatory notice from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited confirmed the development on Thursday.
It was disclosed that the transaction occurred on Friday, December 12, 2025, on the floor of the stock exchange.
The sale involved about 11.8 million shares, precisely 11,783,333 units traded at N31.14 per share, amounting to about N366.9 million.
Mr Ebong, who studied Architecture from University of Ife and obtained Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, became the DMD of First Bank in June 2024. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking since January 2022.
He was previously the Group Executive, Treasury and International Banking, a position he held since 2016 after serving as the bank’s Treasurer from 2011 to 2016.
Before joining First Bank, he was the Head of African Fixed Income and Local Markets Trading, Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian registered subsidiary of Renaissance Capital. He also worked with Citigroup for 14 years as Country Treasurer and Sales and Trading Business Head.
He has a passion for market development and has worked actively to drive change and internationalisation of the Nigerian financial markets: foreign exchange, fixed income and securities.
He has worked closely with regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) in assisting with the development of fresh monetary and foreign exchange policies, to broaden and deepen markets and open them up to international practices.
At various times he has facilitated and delivered courses and seminars on a wide variety of subjects covering Money Markets, Securities and Foreign exchange trading and market risk management subjects to regulators, corporate customers, banks and market participants.
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