E-Financial
Carbon Launches its New Social Banking Service
digital financial services company, Carbon in an effort to improve the experience of its customers, has launched Carbon Express – A keyboard extension that allows customers to access Carbon services from within whatever app they are using.
Carbon Express enables users to initiate and complete transactions such as P2P transfers and bill payments from the keyboard without launching the Carbon App or leaving the current app that they are using. Instead, they will be able to access services from the touch of their keyboard enabling quicker Instagram or Whatsapp commerce.
Carbon Express maintains the same PCI DSS compliant model of encryption, authentication, and security as Carbon’s other services, thereby guaranteeing the security of all transactions.
The feature relies on the keyboard technology of smartphones to facilitate transactions. The technology adds a unique Carbon branded button to the customer’s smartphone keyboard which they can tap anytime to perform transactions. Think of sending an emoji but this time it’s real cash.
“This is a step in the right direction for Carbon as we aspire to go everywhere with our customer.” says Chijioke Dozie, CEO of Carbon. “People are spending a lot of their time on social messaging apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Whatsapp, etc, and It is only natural that some of the conversations they have on these platforms have to do with money. With Carbon Express, we are merging social conversations with financial services – meeting customers where they spend a lot of their time.”
Last week, the company also introduced Carbon Score, it’s loyalty scoring system that rewards customers with benefits such as Healthcare, additional referral bonuses as well as exclusive first access to some of its new features.
“We want to continue to build a mutually beneficial relationship between our company and our customers and what better way than to reward their loyalty and discipline” Dozie adds.
Carbon Express and Carbon Score are the latest on a long list of market-leading innovations from the company.
Carbon (formerly Paylater) pioneered instant lending in Nigeria and was the first mobile app to provide access to credit digitally and without requesting individuals to present the documents and collateral traditionally associated with accessing loans.
Earlier this year, Carbon introduced its iOS app and USSD (*1303#) service following on from its launch in Kenya in December 2019. It also announced its Disrupt Fund, a $100,000 Pan-African fund to address the lack of capital for African tech startups.
E-Financial
Lagos State Appoints MoneyMaster as Payment Partner for “Ounje Eko” Programme
“Ounje Eko”, the food price discount initiative of the Lagos State Government, has appointed leading payment service bank, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank Limited (MMPSB), as its collaborator in the bid to ensure ease of payments at the market.
MoneyMaster is one of the Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed Payment Service Banks (PSBs) to promote financial inclusion across Nigeria.
Under the partnership, MMPSB will apply its cutting-edge payment solution to engender easy payment and reconciliation in order to make the experiences of Lagosians who will be getting their food supplies from the markets pleasurable. Its payment solution is also all-encompassing and ensures real time value to payment destinations.
The mobile bank was appointed as the collection and payment partner for “Ounje Eko” Food Markets programme which is a government initiative serving the five divisions of Lagos State. Consequent on this, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank will collect payments in 57 LCDAs in the state.
The partnership gives credence to the quality of payment solutions that MoneyMaster is reputed for in its services to its growing business clientele in private and public sectors.
E-Financial
CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is investigating irregular foreign exchange transactions and forward contracts valued at approximately $2.4 billion.
The inquiry follows an extensive audit by Deloitte, which scrutinized $7 billion in dollar debts accumulated under the bank’s previous leadership.
In the aftermath of the 294th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, Yemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, disclosed to journalists that the investigation, supported by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, among other security bodies, aims to clarify the legitimacy of these FX allocations identified as problematic by the audit.
“It was determined that a number of these transactions did not qualify…they were outright illegal. The law enforcement agencies are now looking into those transactions that as far as we are concerned, are not valid to be paid,” Cardoso detailed, emphasizing the unlawful nature of these forex deals.
The crux of the investigation lies in the audit findings that a significant portion of the scrutinized transactions lacked proper documentation and, in many instances, were deemed outright illegal.
However, the unfolding investigation has raised concerns within the organized private sector, with some entities contemplating legal action against commercial banks for unresolved forex bids.
Despite these tensions, Governor Cardoso reassures that the foreign exchange market remains open and transparent, inviting stakeholders to address their forex needs through the official channels.
Furthermore, Cardoso clarified the distribution of fertilizers to farmers as a one-off measure and not indicative of a shift back to direct interventions by the CBN, underscoring a commitment to strategic, regulatory governance rather than direct market involvement.
E-Financial
CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed deposit money banks in the country to expedite action to increase their capital base from the current ₦25bn.
Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, stated this during the apex bank’s 294th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Tuesday in Abuja, when the MPC hiked the interest rate by 22.75% to 24.75%.
The apex bank chief said the MPC examined developments in the banking sector and expressed satisfaction that the industry remained stable. The committee, however, said to guard against risk, commercial banks in the country should accelerate their recapitalisation efforts.
Cardoso said, “The MPC also reviewed developments in the banking system and noted that the industry remains safe, sound, and stable. The committee thus called on the bank to sustain its surveillance and ensure compliance of banks with existing regulatory and macro-potential guidelines.
“The MPC also enjoined the banks to expedite actions on the recapitalisation of banks to strengthen the system against potential risks in an increasingly globalised world.”
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