Banking
Interswitch Champions Financial Inclusion Advancement at 2024 IFIC
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
One of Africa’s leading integrated payments and digital commerce companies, Interswitch, has reinforced its commitment to advancing financial inclusion and innovation.
The firm sponsored the 2024 International Financial Inclusion Conference (IFIC) put together by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with The World Bank, the Bankers’ Committee, and the Financial Inclusion Steering Committee.
From November 12 to 13, 2024, stakeholders in the financial sector converged on Landmark Event Centre, Lagos to deliberate on the theme, Inclusive Growth: Harnessing Inclusion for Economic Development.
During a plenary session titled New Frontiers in Innovation: Accelerating Digital Financial Services for Financial Inclusion and Development, the Managing Director for Payment Processing and Switching at Interswitch Purepay, Mr Akeem Lawal, underscored the transformative potential of public-private partnerships, emphasising that financial inclusion is essential to driving Nigeria’s economic prosperity.
He noted, however, that challenges such as limited access, inadequate infrastructure, identity barriers, and low literacy levels continue to hinder progress.
Addressing these issues, he stressed, requires innovative solutions bolstered by robust public-private collaborations.
Mr Lawal also shared valuable insights into how these partnerships can accelerate the adoption of digital financial services and enhance the Nigerian payment system, “For Interswitch, public-private partnerships have been instrumental in addressing industry challenges.”
“Years ago, we partnered with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to digitise tax collection, resolving significant revenue collection issues. More recently, we collaborated with the Lagos State Government to tackle critical healthcare challenges through the LAGSHIP initiative.
“These partnerships exemplify our dedication to leveraging innovation and collaboration to deliver sustainable solutions that drive financial inclusion and economic growth. We are committed to applying this model to future initiatives,” said Mr Lawal.
He added, “Public-private collaborations are essential to sustainable development. At Interswitch, we remain committed to leveraging technology to deliver secure, accessible, and affordable financial services that empower individuals and businesses across Africa.”
The plenary session further explored global best practices, success stories and actionable strategies to expand digital financial services, highlighting solutions to improve access for underserved populations.
The International Financial Inclusion Conference served as a critical platform for stakeholders to come together and align with a shared vision of fostering a more inclusive financial ecosystem.
Consequently, Interswitch showcased its unwavering commitment to driving financial empowerment and economic growth through innovation and technology.
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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