E-Business
IDC Reports Future Rapid Growth in Mobile Banking
A report from IDC Financial Insights states that banks need to prepare themselves today for the imminent wave of mobile adoption to avoid being left behind by competitors.
The study, “Market Analysis: Retail Mobile Banking Vendor Survey Results – Mobile Banking Will Have Its Day, Just Not Today” indicates that while current economic conditions may have curtailed both consumers’ demand for mobile banking and banks’ willingness to invest in it in the short term, things are still moving forward. It presents the results of a survey of 14 U.S. mobile banking solution providers with the objective to get a better understanding of who the key players are in mobile banking, what products and features they offer, and an overall look at industry trends.
“This is the time for banks to invest in their strategies for mobile banking or risk playing rapid catch up once usage does take off,” said Marc DeCastro, research manager, Consumer Banking and Credit/Community Banking, IDC Financial Insights. “Mobile banking for retail customers will become a staple no different than online banking. Just like online banking, the justification for offering a mobile solution will be based on customer retention and cost reduction. The convergence of technologies into the mobile phone will continue to attract customers to the technology, and banks will need to offer a solution.”
IDC Financial Insights believes that payments might just be the “killer” application that propels mobile banking as mainstream. Social networking, while no doubt exploding in popularity, can also be a driver to more success in the future for mobile banking.
In addition, the global economic recovery, which some economists believe has already begun, will likely help kick-start sales of mobile devices and data plans. Therefore, IDC Financial Insights recommends that banks take a more strategic look at mobile banking rather than view it as simply an extension of online banking and bill payment. This includes reviewing the available platforms, listening to the suppliers, and listening to customers before making the investment. Despite the rocky start, mobile banking will be an important channel for retail customers.
For mobile solution providers, IDC Financial Insights warns that it will be important to realise that pricing based on number of users may cause banks to avoid active marketing to keep operational costs lower. In addition, it will be crucial to avoid any shortcuts in securing the mobile channel.
It also recommends that suppliers develop partnerships with carriers and handset providers and prepare for enhanced log-in authentication schemes as regulators rapidly respond to mobile banking.
E-Business
Transcorp Hotels Delivers Stellar H1 Results, Declares Over ₦1Bn Dividend

Transcorp Hotels Plc has delivered a stellar performance in the first half of 2025, recording a 60% year-on-year surge in revenue to ₦47.57 billion, up from ₦29.72 billion in H1 2024. Gross profit climbed 71% to ₦36.21 billion, maintaining a strong 76% margin despite inflation and operational headwinds.
The hospitality giant, a subsidiary of Transnational Corporation Plc, also announced an interim dividend payout of ₦1.024 billion — offering ₦0.10 per 50 kobo ordinary share to shareholders.
In a bold move, the company unveiled Nigeria’s largest corporate venue — the 5,000-seat Transcorp Centre — staking its claim as the new leader in event hospitality. Chairman Emmanuel Nnorom described the results as proof of Transcorp Hotels’ transformative strategies and unwavering investor commitment. MD/CEO Uzo Oshogwe attributed the success to relentless execution and a resilient business model.
Transcorp Hotels, renowned for iconic assets like Transcorp Hilton Abuja and its digital platform Aura, says it isn’t just leading Nigeria’s hospitality sector — it’s redefining excellence across Africa.
E-Business
Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.
China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.
The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.
“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.
The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.
It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.
Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.
Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.
Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.
A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.
“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.
Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.
Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.
It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.
Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.
E-Business
NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.
According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.
NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”
The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.
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