E-Financial
Facebook Testing Mobile Payment Feature
Facebook, world’s leading social networking company, is planning to test a new mobile payment feature. Ostensibly, facebook is breaking the jinks as various companies have been looking to tap into mobile payments markets.
Thus, facebook will use payment details added by users to their Facebook account to automatically fill in forms when they make purchases on mobile applications.
However, Facebook said the feature would not involve moving the payment processing away from an app’s current service provider.
“This product is simply to test how we can help our app partners provide a simpler commerce experience,” Facebook’s spokeswoman Tera Randall said in a statement.
She added that the firm has a “great relationship” with PayPal, one of the biggest processors of online payments.
This feature will help them demonstrate to the advertisers the effectiveness of its platform in driving revenue”
Meanwhile, the social network power house has more than a billion members and half log in daily. Its popularity has seen it attract advertisers keen to tap into the potential consumer pool.
According to its latest earnings report, it generated advertising revenue of $1.6bn (£1bn) in the April to June quarter this year.
Analysts said that if the site does eventually launch the payment feature it will help it track how many of its users actually purchased items from partner applications.
“Facebook does not want to remain just a platform for brand promotion and lead generation, but it wants to become the place where ecommerce deals actually happen,” Manoj Menon, managing director of consulting firm Frost & Sullivan told the BBC.
“This feature will help them demonstrate to the advertisers the effectiveness of its platform in driving revenue. It is a fantastic move by Facebook,” he added.
However, some analysts were sceptical if users would trust a social networking site with their financial information.
“Consumers want safe, seamless and convenient mobile payments and there are a growing number of competitors that consumers trust more, such as PayPal, Visa (V.me) and others,’ said Denee Carrington, an analyst with Forrester Research.
E-Financial
The Alternative Bank, TK Tech Africa Collaborate on $500m Digital Sukuk
The Alternative Bank and TK Tech Africa are set to transform the landscape of financial technology and non-interest banking in Nigeria through their innovative $500 million Digital Sukuk initiative.
This partnership is pioneering the use of blockchain technology for the issuance, trading, and settlement of Sukuk bonds, championing ethical and Sharia-compliant investments in the country.
The Group Head of Structured Trade & Commodities Finance at The Alternative Bank, Gbenga Awe in a statement emphasised the bank’s foremost position as a bank-tech, leveraging its digital innovations and competencies in the financial services sector.
Awe underscored the bank’s efforts to create wealth by developing digital products for everyone interested in commodities and precious metals. According to him, the initiative will allow anyone to invest in the commodities market through tokenized alternative assets, providing unprecedented flexibility and accessibility.
Speaking on the transformative nature of this collaboration, Founder and CEO of TK Tech Africa, Oludamola Akindolire, said; “We are setting a new benchmark for financial innovation in Africa, offering an ethical investment avenue through the synergy of Islamic finance and blockchain technology.”
He highlighted the initiative’s target demographic as urban middle- to high-income Nigerians aged 25 to 60, highlighting its role in fostering inclusive economic growth.
Eguarekhide Longe, Managing Director and CEO of the NASD OTC Securities Exchange, expressed optimism about the initiative’s potential, stressing the importance of raising awareness for its success.
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.
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