Economy
Quickteller Paypoint Agents in Nigeria Reach 35,000
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The race to have more adults in Nigeria into financial services is intensifying, especially with the efforts being made by one of the key players in the sector, Interswitch, through its arm, Quickteller.
The leading payments company in Africa created Quickteller Paypoint to deepen financial inclusion and it then employed the services of youths who work as Quickteller Paypoint agents to offer financial services to people and also earn income for themselves.
According to information made available by the firm, the total number of its agents has increased to more than 35,000 across the country and efforts are being made to expand the base.
These Quickteller Paypoint agents make it possible for customers to easily pay their bills, make cash deposits, cash withdrawals, airtime recharge, insurance services, and a lot more.
Recently, the company, to mark the Customer Service Week, celebrated the top 10 transacting agents from across four cities in Nigeria; Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan, and Port Harcourt. The agents were feted by representatives of Quickteller Paypoint at exclusive ceremonies held across these cities.
According to Quickteller, these agents are deserving of recognition because they are providing very crucial services within their communities. Especially during the general lockdown period, they remained reliable transaction touchpoints for their communities while banks and other financial institutions were closed.
With their services, families were able to send and receive money to and from their loved ones. And when the lockdown eased and people were still sceptical about going to crowded places such as banks, Electric Distribution Companies, etc. they remained a safe and convenient alternative.
The organisation said these agents truly epitomize the power of service as they were able to sustain their communities by enabling continued financial transactions, ensuring the already included remain included, the underserved better served while bringing the unbanked into the formal financial space thereby closing the financial inclusion gap.
Business Post reports that financial inclusion in Nigeria is yet to reach an enviable level, though there has been a significant improvement in the past years.
In a report by Global Findex, financial inclusion is on an upward trajectory, with about 1.2 billion adults globally having bank account since 2011.
Between 2014 and 2017, adults who had accounts with either a financial institution or through mobile money grew from 62 per cent to 69 per cent and in developing countries, the number rose from 54 per cent to 63 per cent.
In Nigeria, only 64 per cent of adults had access to financial services as of 2020, indicating that 38 million Nigerian adults or 36 per cent of the Nigerian population are yet to be financially included.
The federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), banks, fintechs and technology companies such as Interswitch are lending their weight to ensure that this population demographic are not entirely left out of the mix.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says the first cargo of the new Obodo crude blend has been shipped.
Business Post gathered that the first cargo could be headed for the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
In a statement by the chief executive of NUPRC, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, Conoil Producing Limited was congratulated on the successful shipment of the first cargo of the Obodo crude blend.
Mr Komolafe said this development marks a significant milestone for Nigeria’s upstream sector, demonstrating the growing capacity of indigenous operators to contribute meaningfully to national crude oil production and exports.
“The introduction of the Obodo crude blend further diversifies Nigeria’s export portfolio and aligns with the commission’s strategic objectives to enhance production output, maximise hydrocarbon resources, and attract investment through operational efficiency and innovation,” he said.
Mr Komolafe maintained that this achievement by Conoil, under the production sharing contract framework with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, also reflects the positive outcomes of collaborative regulatory support, enabling indigenous players to thrive.
“As the regulator of Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry, the NUPRC remains committed to providing a transparent, predictable, and investment-friendly environment that encourages the development of new crude streams and ensures optimal value for the Nigerian people.
“We look forward to more milestones of this nature that advance national energy security and economic resilience,” he said.
According to tracking data from Kpler, the Suezmax Atlanta Spirit loaded on April 25 from the floating production, storage and offloading vessel Tamara Tokoni.
Obodo has a gravity of 27.65°API and a very low sulphur content of 0.05pc, according to Argus.
Obodo joins the list of crude grades launched by Nigeria in the last year.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) restarted production of similar-quality Utapate in 2024 and launched Nembe a year earlier.
Obodo could find favour with European refineries, as Nigerian medium sweet grades — including Forcados, Escravos and Bonga — have gone predominantly to Europe, the largest market for the country’s crude.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Dangote Oil Refinery has reportedly cancelled planned maintenance on its 204,000 barrels per day petrol-producing unit for June.
This comes as the $20 billion structure has carried out the necessary work during an unplanned shutdown from April 7 to May 11, according to industry tracker, IIR.
Dangote Refinery had originally scheduled a 30-day maintenance shutdown in June for its gasoline-producing Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) unit.
The refinery has since pushed back on reports of the unit being under unplanned repair, stating that such claims are not entirely accurate.
According to data from shipping analytics firm, Kpler, during the unplanned outage, the refinery ramped up exports of residual products such as straight run fuel oil, while shipments of finished fuels like jet fuel and gasoil declined.
The 650,000 barrels per day refinery, built by Africa’s richest man, Mr Aliko Dangote, began producing diesel, naphtha, and jet fuel in January last year, followed by petrol production in September.
Dangote refinery could potentially end the long-standing gasoline trade from Europe to Africa, which is valued at $17 billion annually.
Already, the refinery has triggered a spate of changes in fuel prices locally with back to back cuts down to N825 per litre earlier this week from N835 previously sold.
The refinery, however, has not been able to operate at its optimal level due to challenges around feedstock. So far, in addition to local crude acquisition, it has bought crude from the US, Brazil, Angola, and Algeria.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose further by 1.02 per cent on Tuesday, May 13, buoying the market capitalisation by N19.77 billion to close at N1.967 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.947 trillion.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up by 33.77 points to finish at 3,359.79 points, in contrast to the 3,326.06 points reported a day earlier.
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc increased during the trading session by N2.35 to N27.20 per share from N24.85 per share, NASD Plc added N1.90 to close at N20.90 per unit compared with the previous day’s N19.00 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 87 Kobo to close at N41.30 per share versus the previous closing value of N40.43 per share, Mixta Real Estate Plc climbed higher by 51 Kobo to end at N5.51 per unit compared with Monday’s price of N5.00 per unit, and AG Mortgage Bank Plc appreciated by 5 Kobo to settle at 58 Kobo per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s 53 Kobo per share.
The level of activity was higher yesterday, with the volume of securities transacted going up by 61,474.7 per cent to 414.5 million units from the 673,233 units traded in the previous trading day, the value of trades jumped by 16,714.4 per cent to N1.05 billion from N6.3 million, but the number of deals fell by 28.6 per cent to 25 deals from 35 deals.
Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 536.9 million units worth N524.7 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 266.3 million units sold for N470.5 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion.
Okitipupa Plc also remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 153.6 million units sold for N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 20.2 million units valued at N770.6 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units worth N524.7 million.
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