E-Financial
Interswitch Powers First Bank Loyalty Rewards Scheme
Interswitch Transnational, a leading pan-African integrated payments company with operations in Nigeria and a growing presence in West and East Africa, announces that it is offering an enterprise-wide loyalty solution for First Bank of Nigeria Plc..
First Bank is rewarding its customers through its new loyalty point scheme -FirstClub.
The scheme enables customers (account holders and non-account holders who use First Bank channels) to earn reward points (termed First Points) whilst carrying out transactions such as monthly account balances (on both savings and current accounts), card payment via POS and web for purchases, bill payments on First Bank channels, acquisition and activation of debit MasterCard.
Customers also get extra points for joining the program and an exclusive membership card for top end customers. Exclusive members are entitled to huge discount at various merchant locations for achieving a set milestone of points balance.
Customers can redeem their First Points on the First Bank portal in exchange for various gift items, pay with their First Point for goods on PoS terminals at merchant locations or buy airtime top-up at the bank’s ATMs.
The First Point loyalty solution deployed by Interswitch for First Bank is the first of its kind in the financial landscape in Nigeria.
Interswitch is able to provide the same loyalty solution to other banks and merchants or customise the solution to suit their requirements.
The Interswitch loyalty platform is a robust platform that manages the program /scheme for merchants, banks and other institutions.
The platform can instantly identify and link the customer’s transactions to the correct scheme calculate and award the correct points to the customer.
Mrs. Ezinne Obikile, group head, Products and Marketing Solutions Support, First Bank of Nigeria Plc., said:
“We wanted to reward our customers by providing them with the opportunity to earn loyalty points when making transactions across our banking products. In addition, First Bank also derives many benefits from the scheme – namely growth in revenue from increased transaction volumes, the incentive for customers to increase their minimum balance deposit, rises in volumes of bill-payment transactions, not to mention the attraction of new customers. We are thrilled that Interswitch offers the loyalty platform to facilitate this service for us and our customers.”
Mr. Akeem Lawal, managing director, Interswitch Switching and Processing, said: “We are delighted that Interswitch is providing the loyalty solution for First Bank on its First Point scheme. The scheme hugely benefits First Bank customers who can now earn multiple reward points whenever they use First Bank customer touch-points and their cards.
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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