E-Financial
Nigeria Improves on Visa Releases Latest Africa Integration Index
Visa in Nigeria on Tuesday released the second annual Visa Africa Integration Index that measures the degree of economic integration within key trade corridors of sub-Saharan Africa, namely West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa.
The purpose of the Index is to better understand and to help facilitate economic growth from greater cross-border interaction and economic openness.
Together with its partners, Visa touches 500 million people in Africa.
Speaking on the rationale behind the index, Ade Ashaye, country manager for Visa in West Africa said: “Since the launch of the Visa Africa Integration Index in 2013 the African economy has extended its best period of economic growth on record by delivering growth of 4.8 percent in 2013.
“Our objective was to construct an index for a number of selected sub-Saharan African countries to measure their global and regional integration.
“The Index is built from country-level macroeconomic data, and a wealth of proprietary data drawn from Visa in sub-Saharan Africa, that sum to more than 4 million observations measured across 19 elements.
“The final outputs are economic integration scores at the country and regional levels measured on a semi-annual basis for the period 2011-2013.
“We want to better understand Africa to help unleash the enormous growth potential in electronic payments on the continent, now the heart of the developing world.”
Ashaye noted that it is widely expected that buoyant economic growth will continue for the foreseeable future and it is likely that the African economy will achieve a growth rate approaching 5.5 percent in 2014.
With a collective gross domestic product (GDP) of over $1.9 trillion – a figure that is expected to exceed $2.6 trillion by 2020.
Against this backdrop, this report provides an update to the first edition of the Visa Africa Integration Index that was published in 2013.
Study Methodology: The study offers a detailed analysis of key country clusters in sub-Saharan Africa, revealing strengths and areas of growth potential.
The clusters are:
• West Africa: Ghana and Nigeria
• East Africa: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania
• Southern Africa: South Africa, Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
The 11 constituent countries are highly representative of the region, with a combined population of 437 million people, or 55 percent of the total population.
The study was carried out in conjunction with Professor Adrian Saville, Visiting Professor of Economics at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), and DrLyal White, Director of the Centre for Dynamic Markets and a Senior Lecturer at GIBS in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Four key metrics to measure integration were used: the flow of goods and services or trade (T), financial integration and the movement of capital (C), the flow of information and knowledge (I) and the movement of people (P).
This TCIP model assigns a numeric value to the level of integration, with the global median score being 100.
Despite a modest base, the countries that make up the Index have undergone positive structural transformation over the past decade. The Index offers both recent and robust evidence of this: all 11 countries show improvements in economic integration over the period measured, namely the six half-year periods that make up 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Nigeria
Nigeria, which recently overtook South Africa to become the largest economy in Africa, had a score of 40.5 at the end of 2013 on the Visa Africa Integration Index improving from 37.7 at the start of 2011.
At the end of 2012, the Index level was virtually the same at 40.6.
South Africa has the highest score on the Visa Africa Integration Index, improving from 61.1 at the start of 2011 to 66.7 at the end of 2013.
Said Ashaye: “Nigeria will benefit enormously from greater integration, as its growing market matures and modernises, and the demand for capital and a diversity of trade partners rises to address the needs of increasing industrialisation, a rising appetite for production and services and growing sophistication in lifestyles. “
Depth and Breadth of Integration:
The analysis also considers the depth and breadth of integration, and how integrated each country is globally and regionally.
Measuring economic integration by way of depth and breadth provides for a more granular description and better understanding of the nature of integration beyond conventional economic measures.
In terms of “depth”, a country is considered to be “deeply integrated” if the economy is particularly open and highly connected to the rest of the world.
However, integration only becomes “deep and broad” if a highly connected economy is engaged with a wide variety of counter parties across the different strands of its global relationships.
South Africa scores highest amongst the 11 countries for global integration with a score of 42.6 out of 50.
However Nigeria has made significant strides in regional integration efforts where its score increased from 30.8 to 34.8 during the three year period ending 2013.
This is likely to translate into broader integration across the continent and further afield in global integration.
Kenya scores highest for regional integration, narrowly overtaking Ghana.
But all of these countries – South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and the other eight – are a long way off the global median of 50.
The same observation holds for the underlying depth and breadth pillars that make up the Index.
While South Africa scores highest for global depth (48.3 against the global median of 50) and global breadth (36.9); Mozambique scores highest for regional depth (27.3); and Kenya has the highest score for regional breadth (40.9).
Notably, none of these scores achieves the global median of 50.
Therefore, while the economic transformation among these African countries is impressive, the Index results flag the need for further structural improvements.
He added that the “Findings around openness and increased integration have important implications for the socio- economic advance of African economies based on at least two structural drivers. Firstly, African economies are substantially unconnected to the rest of the world. Secondly, African economies largely are unconnected to each other.
“Africa stands to gain from a sustained structural benefit brought about by the opening up of African economies to each other and to the world at large. Visa is also working hard with its partners to drive cross-border integration to open up the money flows across the region” noted Ashaye.
The Country Manager said that Visa expects the Index to continue provide insights on Africa’s regional integration and enable us to track changes and progress over time.
“The Index offers Visa an academically rigorous foundation to understand how we can serve Africa better. We also hope the Index provides another useful tool for policymakers when making strategic economic decisions,” Ashaye concluded.
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments.
It operates one of the world’s most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 47,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants.
Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers.
Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products.
Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has begun paying insured deposits to customers of the 46 recently failed microfinance banks.
Mr Thompson Sunday, managing director and chief executive, NDIC, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
The interview took place on the sidelines of the International Association of Deposit Insurers Africa Regional Committee meeting.
Sunday said the corporation was using the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBBS) and customers’ Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) for the payments.
He said the NDIC had traced depositors’ alternative bank accounts and credited them directly without requiring physical visits.
He advised depositors without BVNs to visit the nearest NDIC zonal office for verification and payment processing
“The CBN revoked the licences of the 46 microfinance banks on July 1, 2026,” he said.
He said the NDIC automatically became the provisional liquidator after the revocation, in line with the law.
Sunday said the corporation had commenced payment of the insured maximum deposit of N2 million to eligible customers.
He explained that further payments would depend on the recovery of the failed banks’ assets and outstanding debts.
He said proceeds realised from recoveries would be distributed as liquidation dividends to eligible depositors.
Sunday cited Heritage Bank, Aso Savings and Union Homes as examples of the NDIC’s prompt reimbursement efforts.
He said insured depositors of Heritage Bank were paid within four days of the revocation of its licence.
He added that customers of Aso Savings and Union Homes received payments within 72 hours.
“The law allows us 30 days, but we are working to surpass our previous records,” he said.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revoked the banks’ licences for failing to meet regulatory requirements for continued operations.
The apex bank said the action was aimed at protecting depositors, strengthening financial stability and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Mr Taiwo Oyedele, minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, has warned that fear, rumours and misinformation could trigger instability in the banking sector if not properly managed.
Mr Taiwo Oyedele, minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy
Oyedele gave the warning in Abuja at the 2026 International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI) Africa Regional Committee (ARC) Annual Meeting and Workshop, with the theme: “Safeguarding Stability: Public Awareness and Crisis Readiness for a Stronger Future.”
The minister said public confidence remained the foundation of every stable financial system, stressing that panic triggered by false information could create liquidity challenges even for financially sound institutions.
According to him, “there can be no economic growth without financial system stability, and there can be no financial stability without public trust.”
He explained that in the digital age, misinformation could spread rapidly across social media platforms, causing depositors to react out of fear.
“Public trust is fragile. In the digital age, rumours and misinformation can spread across social platforms in seconds, creating liquidity shocks even for solvent institutions,” Oyedele said.
He stressed that building public awareness should not be viewed as a public relations activity, but as a key risk management strategy capable of protecting depositors and strengthening the financial system.
Oyedele noted that deposit insurance had evolved beyond a mechanism for handling bank failures, describing it as a strategic tool for promoting confidence and economic stability.
He said effective crisis preparedness required clear frameworks, communication channels, simulation exercises and coordination among financial sector regulators before emergencies occur.
“Preparedness is not an event, it is a culture,” he said, adding that the strongest crisis response was one that prevented panic from occurring in the first place.
Highlighting Nigeria’s financial sector reforms, the minister said the country’s banking recapitalisation exercise, concluded in March 2026, strengthened the resilience of banks.
He disclosed that 33 out of Nigeria’s 37 banks met the new capital requirements, raising a combined N4.65 trillion in fresh capital, with over 70 per cent sourced from domestic investors.
Oyedele said a better-capitalised banking system would be better positioned to absorb shocks, sustain lending and reduce pressure on the deposit insurance fund.
He also pointed to Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in October 2025 as another milestone that strengthened confidence in the country’s financial system.
Also speaking, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said public awareness and crisis preparedness were central to maintaining financial stability.
Represented by Solaja Olayemi, director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department represented, Cardoso said financial systems globally were undergoing rapid transformation due to technological innovation, digital finance, changing consumer behaviour and increasing market interconnectedness.
According to him, while these developments create opportunities, they also introduce new risks that require stronger cooperation among financial safety-net institutions.
The CBN boss warned that misinformation could spread quickly through digital channels, amplifying depositor reactions and creating potential threats to financial stability.
He added that institutions must continuously strengthen crisis management frameworks, operational resilience and coordination mechanisms to respond effectively to emerging challenges.
The apex bank governor also highlighted the impact of Nigeria’s banking sector recapitalisation policy, saying stronger capital buffers would reduce the likelihood of bank failures and reinforce depositor confidence.
“No single institution can safeguard financial stability in isolation. It is through the coherence and complementarity of this institutional relationship that Nigeria’s financial safety net derives its strength,” he noted.
Earlier, Mr Thompson Sunday, managing director/chief executive officer, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), said confidence remained the most valuable asset in any financial system.
The NDIC boss said trust could take years to build but could be lost quickly if stakeholders perceived uncertainty or instability. He said deposit insurers must ensure that the public understands and trusts existing protection frameworks during both normal periods and times of crisis.
He noted that the 2023 global banking turmoil highlighted the need for institutions to invest in crisis simulation exercises, contingency planning and effective communication strategies.
According to him, the NDIC has continued to strengthen its operational readiness through improved depositor reimbursement systems, public awareness initiatives and enhanced crisis management capabilities.
European Union (EU) has warned the public against a fraudulent document circulating online which falsely claims that the bloc, in collaboration with the World Bank, is offering compensation to individuals whose funds are allegedly trapped in banks and financial institutions across West Africa.
In a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS described the purported compensation programme as a scam, stressing that neither the European Union nor the World Bank is involved in any such initiative.
The fake document, fraudulently attributed to Thérèse Blanchet, secretary-general of the Council of the European Union, claimed that a special EU-World Bank recovery programme has been established to compensate citizens of Europe and other countries whose legally transferred funds were allegedly withheld by banks in the region.
It also falsely stated that the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS has been mandated to supervise the compensation exercise and directs potential claimants to contact him for processing.
However, the EU categorically dismissed the claims, describing every aspect of the document as fabricated.
“The document in its entirety is a scam. The information and claims contained therein are false. The European Union is neither aware of any such bogus programme nor part of it,” the Delegation stated.
The EU further disclosed that the email addresses and telephone numbers listed in the fraudulent document, purportedly belonging to Ms. Blanchet and Ambassador Gautier Mignot, EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, , are fake and are being used by fraudsters to deceive unsuspecting victims.
The Delegation urged members of the public to ignore the fraudulent claims and avoid engaging with anyone promoting the scheme.
It emphasized that all official announcements from the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS are published exclusively through its official website and verified social media platforms.
The warning comes amid increasing cases of cyber-enabled financial fraud in which criminal syndicates impersonate international organisations, government institutions and senior officials to lure victims into paying fictitious processing fees or divulging sensitive personal and financial information.
The EU reiterated its commitment to combating fraud and misinformation while urging citizens to remain vigilant against scams exploiting the names and identities of reputable international institutions.
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