Category: Banking/Finance

UBA Poised To Change The Face Of E-Banking with New Mobile App

Pan African financial institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Plc is set to change the face of digital banking services with its new mobile banking app aimed at delivering first-rate services to customers.

The new UBA mobile banking app, has been armed with benefits and features designed to give its customers increased control and accessibility to carry out transactions with ease.

UBA’s Group Head, Digital Banking, Kayode Ishola, who spoke about the new banking app to members of the press during an international virtual media parley on Monday, explained that apart from being able to decide where they want their cards to operate and block, view, or request new cards straight from the app to suit their specific needs, the app has been tailor-made to give customers what they want, how and in the way they want it.

Reeling off some of the features and benefits of the app, he said a lot of investment in cutting edge technology and attention to details was put into the new UBA mobile app.

 

 

Ishola said, “The new UBA Mobile App is your personal finance manager built with a distinctive user interface that will change the face of banking. With this app, we are reimagining banking as our engagement has moved from being channel-based to being platform-based. The speed of the platform has been made to match the speed of light as we have cut down significantly on the number of processes expected to carry out your transactions.

“Interestingly, we have worked towards creating behavioural insight for our customers and working around this to address the real needs of our customers using the Omni channel platform and running on our open digital platform, which is very interactive and armed with lifestyle services. It is sleek and trendy with seamless user interface” Ishola stated.

 

UBA’s Head, SME Banking, Sampson Aneke, said that apart from the fact that the app has been created with journey that has a high-level of intelligence – as it can work based on frequent transactions, it can also speak to the specific country where it is being used as the new mobile app runs concurrently in the 20 countries of UBA’s operation interacting in the different languages and cultures in line with the specific needs and regulation of the country in focus.

“This all-encompassing platform which boasts of a new user interface because of its sleek, modern nature of delivering seamless experience across several devices; can be used as a budgeting tool, loan application and also allows customers view their expenses according to their various categories such as the amount spent on data within a particular period;” Aneke added.

 

On the security features of the app, UBA’s Group Chief Information Officer, Onyebuchi Akosa, said that security of the app are best in class adding that the new platform, which will revolutionise the way banking services are offered, promises to deliver increased personalized banking via a watertight and highly-effective security system.

“The new app has also been built with the best-in-purchase security features and has been modelled appropriately to ensure that all the features are working properly to secure transactions maximally. It is also important to mention that the bank took into consideration the virtually impaired, and thus has used voice recognition as a channel for transaction which suits both convenience and the visually impaired customers,” he said.

 

United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than twenty million customers, across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points, in 20 African countries. With presence in New York, London and Paris, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary banking services.

FIRSTBANK PROMOTES DIASPORA REMITANCES, REWARDS CUSTOMERS WITH EXTRA N5 FOR EVERY DOLLAR RECEIVED

First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s leading financial inclusion services provider is rewarding customers with N5 for every dollar received through foreign remittances. This N5 for a dollar incentive is paid to FirstBank’s customers regardless of their preference to collect the USD as cash across the counter in any of the Bank’s over 750 branches nationwide or as transfer into the customers domiciliary accounts.

 

 

The reward to customers is in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s ‘Naira 4 Dollar scheme’, driven to promote diaspora remittances into the country. For example, a customer that receives 10,000 USD, gets N50,000.00 as reward. The scheme runs from Monday, 8 March – Saturday, 8 May 2021.

 

Speaking on the initiative, FirstBank’s CEO, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan said “at FirstBank, we are pleased to participate in the CBN’s ‘Naira 4 Dollar scheme’ as it will contribute to deepening financial inclusion in Nigeria. Indeed, it’s an activity we are pleased to lead, whilst promoting access to funds across the nooks and crannies of the country in almost 127 years of our existence.

 

We are delighted to be a gateway to promoting dollar remittances into the country and we encourage our customers, their loved ones and friends to use our international money transfer services which would enable them to enjoy the rewards of this promo, sustaining the increase in inflows of diaspora remittances into Nigeria consequently help in poverty reduction, income redistribution and enhancement of economic growth” he concluded.

 

FirstBank pioneered international funds transfer and remittances over 25 years ago and has been at the forefront of promoting cross border payments in the country, having started the journey with Western Union Money Transfer. The Bank’s wealth of experience and operation in over 750 locations nationwide gives it the edge in the market.

 

Only recently, the Bank launched the First Global Transfer (FGT) product to promote international transfer of funds across its subsidiaries in sub-Saharan Africa. The Bank’s subsidiaries in Africa include FBNBank DRC, FBNBank Ghana, FBNBank Gambia, FBNBank Guinea, FBNBank Sierra-Leone, FBNBank Senegal.

Ecobank To Pay Customers N5 For Every Dollar Received

Ecobank is implementing the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s scheme which offers N5 for every Dollar received into domiciliary accounts or as cash over the counter.  Korede Demola-Adeniyi; Head, Consumer Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, who announced this in Lagos stated that the decision is in line with the CBN’s directive and fully aligns with efforts to encourage the inflow of diaspora remittances into the country. She noted that the “CBN Naira 4 Dollar scheme” is an unprecedented incentive for senders and recipients of international money transfers.

 

 

Korede Demola-Adeniyi said that the scheme takes effect from 8th March and will run till 8th May, 2021. “Ecobank will pay N5 on every Dollar so beneficiaries will not only get the foreign currency sent from their family and friends abroad, they will also get extra Naira”, she stated.

 

Only recently, Ecobank had a first of its kind virtual Diaspora Summit to discuss opportunities for Nigerians living abroad and the various platforms available to assist them with their investment decisions and remittance needs. The event had major players in the remittance space, diaspora audience, government officials and notable stakeholders in attendance.

 

 

Further, the Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan has disclosed that apart from consistent engagement with Nigerians in the diaspora, Ecobank is leveraging its digital technology to make remittances to Nigeria and Africa easy, convenient and affordable.

 

Mr. Akinwuntan stated that growing evidence has shown a positive relationship between diaspora remittances and economic growth. “Ecobank will continue to pursue its mandate of helping to enhance the economic development and integration of Africa, through the 33 countries where the bank operates on the continent. Ecobank’s Rapidtransfer and mobile app (Ecobank Mobile) enable Africans, wherever they are, to easily and instantly send money to bank accounts, mobile wallets and agent locations across 33 African countries”, he stated.

 

 

Ecobank Nigeria, a member of the Pan African Banking Group is committed to supporting Africans in the diaspora by providing advisory services, remittance solutions, investment options and financial planning schemes. The bank also offers mortgages, treasury bills, capital market instruments, among others.

Stakeholders Endorse Ecobank Stewardship Pack and School Bundle

Stakeholders in faith-based organisations and education sector have endorsed the two new products recently introduced into the financial market by Ecobank Nigeria, saying they can provide solutions to their needs. The products Ecobank Stewardship Pack and the Ecobank School Bundle are targeted at religious and educational institutions at all levels respectively.  The Ecobank School bundle is designed to help educational institutions manage their banking needs more effectively so they can concentrate on providing world-class education. It comprised a bouquet of digital offerings that includes Omniplus/Omnilite, Collegepay, Ecobankpay, Web collections Paydirect, Point of Sale Terminals (POS), NIBBS platforms, EBILLS PAY, Asset Finance and Ecobank School Loan. The Ecobank Stewardship Account on the other hand is designed to help religious organizations run their daily operations smoothly and earn interest at the same time. Also referred to as The Good Steward Pack, its features include: zero monthly maintenance charge and interest rate payable on average monthly balance amongst others.

Speaking at the virtual launch, Prof. Humphrey Adebayo, Vice Chancellor, Covenant University, Ota, commended Ecobank Nigeria for taking the initiative to create the innovative products, stressing that they would add value to the operations of the various target groups. He lauded Ecobank for rising to the challenges of covid 19 pandemic by providing services to the banking public through its various digital offerings, stating that the new products would further free time for them to focus on core roles.

According to him, “The pandemic has disrupted human activities, and changed the perspective of the world thereby increasing the need for more digital and innovative solutions to the problems it created, which will further facilitate the ease of doing of business. Education and religious institutions were highly affected by the lock down, creating a gap in the system. Digital solutions become extremely important for online learning and services with digital financial solutions being helpful with collection. This has helped in freeing these institutions to focus on their core activities. The digital platform provided by Ecobank is efficient and guarantees a high level of security and allow for real time banking services and with minimal downtime. The new Ecobank products will undoubtedly add value to these institutions.”

Alhaji Mohammed Balarabe, a seasoned Banker and chief launcher at the event said the target group would find them useful as they embark on their conventional activities. According to him, “The new normal presents a lot of challenges in almost all aspects of our life in particular, the faith-based organizations and educational institutions because of their conventional way of carrying out activities. In a bid to address these challenges, Ecobank introduced these targeted products that will help tackle them. I believe more will come our way from the Ecobank platform.”

At the launch which doubled as Ecobank Public Sector Stakeholder Engagement Webinar titled “Digital enablement of education and faith: Winning tools for new normal lifestyle”, the  products also received endorsement from Mrs. Olabimpe Aderiye, Hon. Commissioner of Education, Ekiti State, Chief ‘Yomi Otubela, National President, National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) and host of others.

Carol Oyedeji, Executive Director, Commercial Banking, Ecobank Nigeria while welcoming guests at the virtual launch was optimistic that the products can effectively assist educational institutions and faith-based organizations through tailor made digital offerings against the backdrop of the new normal lifestyle occasioned by the covid 19 pandemic. She added that “At Ecobank, we are using digital technology to assist businesses for payments and collections, financially include many millions into formal financial systems, and therefore improve lives across Africa. We are indeed making banking easier, more accessible and more affordable across the continent than ever before.”

Moji Oguntoyinbo, Segment Head, Public Sector and Agribusiness, Ecobank Nigeria, said “Ecobank products are designed to bridge the gap and meet funding and other financial needs quickly and efficiently. Education and religion are interwoven right from the onset. Religion institutions have been huge investors in Education. These products are designed to provide secured savings and collection channels especially in the post covid 19 era where digitization is highly helpful to limit the spread of the virus.”.

Ecobank Group Signs A Remittance Partnership With Small World Financial Services

Leading international money transfer provider Small World Financial Services (“Small World”), has signed a partnership with Ecobank -the leading Pan-African banking group, based in Lomé, Togo.

The agreement brings the strengths and assets of both organisations to offer money transfer services to Africans in the diaspora. This is an exciting development for both Small World and the Ecobank Group as Small World can continue to grow its global customer base as well as its 250,000 pick-up locations, while Ecobank, with its footprint across 33 African countries can further expand its remittance reach within African communities across Europe and other parts of the world. Small World customers will be able to access the unparalleled Ecobank Africa -wide network in three ways: Direct transfer to Bank accounts, mobile wallet; and cash pick up at any Ecobank location.

This partnership will further financial inclusion in Africa as Ecobank will make available the Ecobank Xpress Account (a mobile based bank account developed for the unbanked and under-banked) for the recipients of remittances sent by Small World Financial Services’ customers.

Nick Day, Chief Executive and Founder of Small World, said: “We are delighted to be forging a partnership with Ecobank. It is a leading bank in Africa with over 50,000locations in the region which means our global customers get access to even more ways to send money home to African countries. Importantly, Ecobank shares our commitment in delivering great customer service alongside providing fast, affordable and reliable transfers.

“Nana Araba Abban, Ecobank Group Consumer Banking Head, added: “We’re proud to offer seamless payments across our vast borderless network in Africa. At Ecobank, we value partnerships, such as this, that enable Africans in the diaspora to remit money affordably and conveniently. This provides a win-win partnership as Ecobank can offer banking services to Africans wherever they are on the globe.”Ecobank shares Small World’s commitment of making financial services seamless, convenient, and interoperable across Africa.”

WITH YOUR FIRSTMONIE WALLET, YOUR VALENTINE HAS GOT A BOOST WITH BONUS DATA AND AIRTIME

You’ve got Firstmonie Wallet on your phone? Did I hear you say Yes… then, count yourself lucky because your first daily recharge and data subscription between 13 – 15 February will give you the opportunity to speak more to your loved ones, or spend more time on your favourite social media channel.

In sharing love this valentine season, Firstmonie Wallet – the electronic wallet initiative by FirstBank – will gift customers bonus 100% data and 50% airtime on their first recharge each day across all GSM networks… make some Noise!!!

Firstmonie Wallet is your friendly e-wallet to pay for your utility bills, buy airtime and data, transfer and receive money from any account in a seamless and convenient way and much more. It is your wallet with many more possibilities.

You don’t have Firstmonie Wallet on your phone? Then count yourself also lucky because you will be gifted the bonus airtime and data once you download the Firstmonie Wallet app, purchase airtime and data; that’s all, data and airtime is all yours. You can also sign up on Firstmonie Wallet via USSD by simply dialing *894*1#.

To sign up for Firstmonie Wallet using your phone,

  • Simply download the app from your store (iOS or Android)
  • Enter your mobile number and agree to terms and conditions.
  • Follow the steps to complete registration.

To sign up for Firstmonie Wallet via the USSD string,

  • Just dial *894*1#.
  • Choose 1 to register without BVN and input necessary information.
  • Choose 2 to register with BVN and follow the prompt.

Use your Firstmonie Wallet between 13 – 15 February and share in our love this valentine.

Terms and conditions apply.

Ecobank Nigeria announces the pricing of its Senior Unsecured $300 million bond

Ecobank Nigeria (“ENG” or “the Bank”), a wholly owned subsidiary of leading pan-African banking giant, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (‘ETI’), the parent company of the Ecobank Group, announced that it has successfully priced its USD 300 million bond issuance maturing in February 2026, with settlement of the bond to take place on 16 February 2021.

The fixed-rate, US dollar-denominated bond, with a tenor of 5 years, carries a coupon rate of 7.125% and will be listed on the London Stock Exchange. It is accompanied by an Issuer Rating of B- from Fitch Rating Agency and S & P.  The coupon / yield represents the lowest ever coupon / yield achieved by a Nigerian financial institution for a benchmark bond transaction. At the peak of marketing the transaction, the issue was over 3 times oversubscribed, with significant interest from international investors. The transaction opened with Initial Price Thoughts (‘IPT’s’) of 7.75% and finally tightened to close at 7.125% on the back of robust demand. The strength and depth of the book demonstrated global investors’ strong appetite for the Ecobank franchise in Nigeria, a testament to the strength of the Ecobank Group. This transaction is the first non-sovereign bond from Africa in 2021 and is milestone capital raise for the banking sector in Nigeria, giving Ecobank access to global debt capital markets, and more favorable credit terms, commensurate with its strong financial position and robust capital structure. For international investors, it represented an attractive option to gain exposure to Nigeria.

This transaction followed a series of virtual global investor calls, with a number of blue-chip local, regional and international financial institutions, led by Citi, Mashreq, Renaissance Capital and Standard Chartered Bank as Joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners.

Commenting on the issuance, Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan, Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria, said: “Despite the challenging global environment owing to the COVID-19  pandemic, and on the back of a successful NGN 50bn Tier 2 issuance in December 2020, ENG was able to successfully issue and price Nigeria’s first 2021 senior unsecured 5 year bond transaction. Ecobank Nigeria, through this issuance, is being  proactive in optimizing its capital structure as it continues to drive its medium term growth strategy of establishing itself as a leading facilitator of pan-Africa and international trade and payments.”

Mr. Akinwuntan continued, “I would like to extend my appreciation to our regulators, the Central Bank of Nigeria, for their timely support and continuous guidance, in granting necessary regulatory approvals.”

He further added: “We believe that our  capital raising activities are  key steps forward towards strengthening ENG beyond the regulatory ratios in addition to diversifying ENG’s medium-term financing sources. ENG is poised for continued growth in the Nigerian financial services industry.”

FIRSTBANK PROVIDES LOAN FACILITIES TO ITS FIRSTMONIE AGENTS

In furtherance of the need to promote the business activities of its foremost agent banking platform – Firstmonie Agents – Nigeria’s leading financial inclusion services provider, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, has announced the provision of loan facilities – up to one million naira – to its banking agents. The Bank currently has over 86,300 Firstmonie Agents, spread across the country’s 772 Local Government Areas.

With its location in every neighbourhood, Firstmonie Agents have been integral to filling the financial exclusion gap, providing convenient banking services that are easily accessible, thereby saving time and travel costs for individuals in the suburbs and remote environments that have no access to financial services.

The  Bank’s financial inclusion activities is in line with the mandate of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure the availability of affordable financial products and services to all individuals and groups of people in the country; irrespective of location, literacy levels, familiarity with technology and accessibility to modern infrastructural facilities. The Firstmonie Agent channel is amongst the Bank’s many initiatives to expand financial access in the country.

Appreciating the Firstmonie Agents, Mr. Chuma Ezirim, Group Executive, e-Business & Retail Products, First Bank of Nigeria Limited said “the roles played by our Firstmonie Agents in promoting businesses across the nooks and crannies of the country cannot be overemphasized as they have continued to set the pace in extending financial inclusion to communities with little or no access to financial services.

“With our Firstmonie Agents in every neighbourhood, several communities have witnessed a surge in business and financial activities, which is contributory to national growth and development. We commend our Agents and are delighted to support them with credit facilities, which they can access 24hours a day in less than 2minutes.”

Former UK Chancellor George Osborne to become full-time banker

Former British chancellor George Osborne is to become a partner at one of London’s most exclusive boutique advisory firms.

Osborne is joining M&A advisory firm Robey Warshaw as the business’ first outside partner.

“Robey Warshaw is the best of the best, advising great businesses on how to grow, and I’m proud to be joining this first-rate team,” Osborne said in statement provided by Robey Warshaw.

Osborne, who left politics in 2017, has become well-known for the portfolio of jobs he has taken on since leaving politics, including editing the London Evening Standard newspaper and advising money manager BlackRock. The former chancellor will give up his other roles to focus solely on Robey Warshaw, which he will join in April.

“We believe that George will significantly enhance the advice we give to clients,” a spokesperson for Robey Warshaw said. “He brings differentiated experience and expertise to our team from his leading roles in global finance over the past decade.”

Robey Warshaw was founded by ex-Morgan Stanley (MS) bankers Sir Simon Robey and Philip Apostolides and former UBS (UBSG.SW) dealmaker Simon Warshaw in 2013. The firm has quickly established a reputation as one of the preeminent firms in the bulge-bracket deal space.

In recent years Robey Warshaw has worked on deals including Comcast’s (CMCSA) $39bn takeover of Sky, BP’s (BP.L) $10.5bn (£7.7bn) acquisition of shale assets from BHP Group (BHP.L), and the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE.L) $27bn takeover of data provider Refinitiv.

Advising on such blockbuster deals has helped the firm make profits of over £200m since its founding. Profits are shared between the company’s three partners. The highest paid partner took home £10m last year and £27.7m the year before that.

Details of Osborne’s pay arrangements were not shared and a spokesperson declined to comment. Osborne, who was chancellor from 2010 until 2016, will be entitled to a profit share as a new partner.

“We remain hugely ambitious about our company’s future and believe that George will help expand our reach, and what we can offer our clients without changing the philosophy or ethos of our firm,” the Robey Warshaw spokesperson said.

Despite its work on major deals, Mayfair-based Robey Warshaw remains small. The firm employs just 12 professionals who advises on deals, supported by 15 administrative staff.

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