E-Financial
Sub-Saharan Africa Jumps in Financial Inclusion Ratings
A new report says Sub-Saharan African countries have relatively high rates of financial inclusion due to widespread use of mobile money.
The report by Centre for Global Deployment (CGD) finds that just 56% of citizens across 99 developing countries, including Sub-Saharan Africa, have access to a phone, a bank account and an identity card (ID).
However, the report said the widespread use of mobile money services in Sub-Saharan Africa has led to more financial inclusivity than in Latin America where the rate of financial inclusion remains relatively low.
The report said while nearly 80% of Latin Americans have access to a mobile phone, barely more than 50% have a bank or mobile money account.
Research shows that Kenya leads in the use of mobile money within the SSA region.
It added, however, that there are significant gender gaps in access to phones, IDs and especially bank accounts in the region – with men more likely (9 percentage points) to have access to each of these items than women.
Anit Mukherjee, a policy fellow at CGD and a co-author on the report, said, “We found that the lack of bank and mobile money accounts is the biggest gap in digital readiness. It’s difficult to get money to citizens who don’t have either.”
Finance market analyst at Zambia’s Ministry of Finance and National Planning Edith Mwale said it is true that Sub-Saharan countries – including Zambia – have made a lot of progress in ensuring financial inclusivity through the use of mobile money.
She said although in Zambia financial inclusion remains relatively low at 60%, in Kenya, 82.9% of the population are financially included, while other countries including Rwanda, Uganda and Nigeria follow Kenya closely.
“While I do not have figures on Latin American countries on where they stand in terms of financial inclusion, I want to agree with the report that Sub-Saharan Africa is way ahead of other countries in terms of mobile money financial inclusion through mobile money,” said Mwale.
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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