The Nation Newspaper

Category: Money

  • Stanbic IBTC Asset Management supports Foundations

    Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, has made donations to two leading Foundations to support the less privileged in the areas of education and healthcare.

    The firm donated N1 million to Thoughtful House Foundation and N500,000 to LOTS Charity Foundation, to enable them cater for the needs of the less privileged. LOTS Charity Foundation is focused on education and community development while Thoughtful House Foundation is focused on providing support on the education and therapy of children with Autism.

    Speaking at the cheque presentation ceremony in Lagos  Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, Mr. Olumide Oyetan, said the gesture is in line with the firm’s commitment to value-driven corporate social responsibility, designed to make positive impact on the wellbeing of the communities where it operates.

    “These interventions fit into the architecture of Stanbic IBTC Group’s corporate social investments (CSI) efforts,which focus on education, health and economic empowerment. We believe strongly in adding value to the communities in which we operate, and we will continue to identify partnerships that are pivotal in achieving these objectives,” he said.

  • JP Morgan report says it’s learning from mistakes

    JP Morgan Chase & Co has outlined improved controls it has been enacting in the wake of recent missteps, including pay clawbacks and minimum share ownership requirements for leaders, it said in a report issued under shareholders’ pressure.

    The document titled, “How We Do Business” and posted on JP Morgan’s website, is the latest mea sure from the largest U.S. bank by assets, after a slew of problems and a record $13 billion settlement with regulators in 2013 over its mortgage operations leading up to the financial crisis.

    “In some cases our controls fell short, and in others, we simply weren’t meeting the standards we had set for ourselves,” the report states.

    “Every company makes mistakes (and we’ve made a number of them), but the hallmark of a great company is what it does in response,” Chief Executive Jamie Dimon wrote in the report’s cover letter to Reuters.

    The document summarizes a wide range of actions JPMorgan has taken to tighten processes in recent years, though many of the details have been previously known.

    For instance, the report describes how JPMorgan clawed back or canceled more than $100 million in executive compensation after one of its traders, known as the “London Whale,” lost more than $6 billion on bad derivatives trades, raising the ire of regulators.

    The report also states that members of JPMorgan’s operating committee must own at least 200,000 to 400,000 shares of the company’s stock, and that its CEO must hold a minimum of 1 million shares. The report has satisfied some shareholder activists who had pressed for it earlier this year, including Seamus Finn, chair of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility.

  • AfDB puts intra- Africa’s trade value at $110b

    The Africa Development Bank (AfDB) has said the share of intra-African trade accounts for 11 per cent ($110 billion) of the value of total African trade.

    The Trade Finance in Africa released by the bank at the weekend explained that given the estimated rejection rates of trade finance applications, the conservative estimate for the value of unmet demand for bank-intermediated trade finance is $110 billion to $120 billion, significantly higher than estimated earlier figures of about $25 billion. These figures, it said, suggest that the market is significantly underserved.

    It said that African banks face numerous constraints in meeting the demand for trade finance. “The survey reveals that the main constraints are limited dollar availability (by far the dominant currency in international trade, and by extension, trade finance) and insufficient limits with confirming banks for confirming letters of credit. Other constraints include small balance sheets, which tends to make single obligor limits frequently binding. These constraints also suggest that the AfDB’s trade finance program, as well as those implemented by other international financial institutions, are needed and well suited to relaxing some of the most binding constraints,” it said.

    It however, insisted that the outlook of banks for trade finance remains positive, with 72 per cent expecting to increase their trade finance activities in the immediate future.

    “However, banks foresee obstacles to their trade finance portfolio growth such as low US dollar liquidity, regulation compliance, slow economic growth in some markets, and the inability to assess the credit-worthiness of potential borrowers,” it said.

  • Agent banking: Banks, agents get 72 hours to resolve complaints

    Agent banking: Banks, agents get 72 hours to resolve complaints

    Banks and agents have 72 hours to resolve customer-related issues in agent banking, according to a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guidelines.

    CBN said financial institutions will be responsible for setting up dispute resolution mechanisms for their agents to facilitate resolution of customers’ complaints.

    It pegged the minimum shareholder fund for Super Agents in Agent Banking at N50 million.

    In a circular to Deposit Money Banks, Mobile Money Operators (MMOs) and switches, signed by its Director of Banking & Payments Department, ‘Dipo Fatokun, CBN insisted that to be licensed, a Super Agent must be a company with an existing business operational for at least 12 months and registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

    It said the agent must also have a minimum shareholders’ fund unimpaired by losses of N50 million and obtain a reference letter from a financial institution as part of its documentation for licence request.

    The Super Agent must also have a minimum of 50 agents, while applications for such position shall be accompanied with board approval, certificate of incorporation, shareholding structure of the consortium and feasibility study for the agent network, among other conditions.

    “The Nigeria Interbank Settlement Scheme (NIBSS) shall provide the switching infrastructure at all agent locations. The super-agents’ platform shall be for the management and monitoring of the activities of their agents only and shall not hold electronic money value, whereas, the financial institutions shall provide and operate the Mobile Money platform and hold electronic money value,” the circular said.

    It said all MMOs operators platforms must be up to date (inclusive of mandatory integration to NIBSS), tested and active to ensure interoperability between MMOs. Also, all licensed MMOs shall ensure that their platforms are upgraded as needed, tested and active within 30 days from the release of this document.

    For over-the-counter (OTC) transactions, it said the period for holding funds not withdrawn by a receiving customer shall be 30 days. Thereafter, the fund shall be reversed to the sender even as notifications sent to the receiving customer shall indicate the expiry date for the transaction.

  • UBA customers get Twitter alerts

    Customers of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc can now receive transaction alerts on their twitter handle as direct messages.

    It is an innovative first from the pan-African bank and currently the only bank in Africa to offer this service. “What we have done is take social media banking to a new level. Twitter is increasingly becoming a popular means of communication especially among the young adults. As a highly innovative bank, we are giving the Millennials, who are increasingly banking with us an option to get transaction alerts on their preferred platform” said Rasheed Adegoke, UBA’s Director, Information Technology.

    Before now customers can only receive transaction alerts as text messages on their mobile phones and as e-mails. The UBA Twitter Notification Service will not however, replace the current SMS alerts system in place for all of the bank’s customers, but will complement it for added convenience for all those who subscribe to the service.

    UBA customers seeking to receive twitter powered transaction alerts through their twitter account should visit the UBA Group website or the UBA twitter page to register.

    On the UBA Group website, customers will be requested to click on the Twitter notification service page, and enter their account number then  click on submit. Follow the displayed instructions to log into their personal account and enable access. Once this process is completed, the customer will start receiving transaction alerts securely.

    The alerts will only be seen by the receiver, since it goes into his or her direct message box, just like an SMS message going to a phone. The introduction of this service reinforces UBA’s growing presence and engagement with its numerous customers on social media.  UBA has been acknowledged as one of Nigeria’s leading banks in the social media space.

    In February 2014, a social media report by Alder Consulting ranked the bank among the top three, in effective use of social media in Nigeria. UBA is active on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram and Google plus and runs a corporate blog. With a customer base in excess of seven million, UBA has invested heavily in building a robust and secure e-Banking platform that supports its e-banking operations globally through strategic partnerships with various local and international organisations.

  • NERFUND managers stay put as tenure lapses

    NERFUND managers stay put as tenure lapses

    Has the one-year tenure of National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND) interim managers, which expired last October, been extended? This is the questions being asked by industry watchers as the managers are still in office over two months after their tenure expired.

    NERFUND workers are wondering what the managers are still doing when there is no indication of their tenures extension.

    NERFUND, which is under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance (MoF), is managed by a team from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC). The team was seconded to overhaul NERFUND following a N5.7 billion loss.

    The team, which assumed duty last October 9, is headed by Muhammad Gidado Kollere of NDIC’s as Managing Director/CEO, CBN’s Ihua Elenwor is the Executive Director, Operations.

    The managers are expected to recover outstanding loans and reconcile all accounts with correspondent banks. They are also expected to render quarterly reports to NERFUND’s board, headed by the Permanent Secretary, MoF.

    A source at NERFUND said the managers should be concerned with how the firm should be wound down now, following the National Assembly’s plan to repeal the law establishing it. They said the managers should also be concerned about the workers’ terminal benefits.

    The source advised the MoF to pay attention to what is happening in NERFUND to protect it from further losses. The source said the agency’s receivership is for one year, after which a substantive Managing Director would be appointed.

    The source said there is intense lobbying for the job. “You see, these managers from the CBN and NDIC may not want to quit as their tenure expired in October. They are more professional than the past managers of the Fund. They are also likely to seek extension of their tenure,” the source said.

    It said the CBN/NDIC team has been able to restructure some of the ‘political loans’ that led the Fund into incurring losses. “Majority of the political loans that dented NERFUND’s balance sheet has been restructured, and secured with requisite collateral,” the source said.

    The source also faulted the N5.7 billion loss claim by the government, saying the total amount NERFUND has obtained from government since inception is not up to that amount. The Fund received about N2.8 billion in 2010, and $141 million from the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) at an exchange rate of N9.9 to a dollar in 1991.

    NERFUND also got another N350 million loan from the government. The source said the cumulative funds, made available to NERFUND till date, are below N4 billion. The source said there are also plans to restructure the operations of the Fund.

    This may necessitate the merger of NERFUND with the Bank of Industry (BoI) to deepen credit access to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). NERFUND was established by Decree No. 2 of 1989 to provide medium to long-term loans to participating banks (PBs) for on-lending to SMEs for the promotion and acceleration of productive activities in such enterprises.

    The government took over the Fund following President Goodluck Jonathan’s approval of the recommendations of the CBN and NDIC Joint Special Examination report on its books. It claimed the capital invested in the institution by the MoF had been eroded with the gross losses.

    The Fund, it was learnt, has not been able to service loans taken for on-lending from the AfDB, the MoF and other sources. The source said the agency’s last governing board was dissolved in 1993, adding that it was being run by an Interim Management Committee headed by Permanent Secretary, MoF before the CBN/NDIC team came on board.

    The source said the firm has over time canvassed for reconstitution of its corporate governance board, recapitalisation and total restructuring. There were also previous plans to merge it with other Development Finance Institutions (DFIDs), which also failed.

    Conditions set for accessing NERFUND’s Micro Enterprises Credit Scheme entail that prospecting businesses must be engaged in manufacturing, mining, quarrying, agro-allied, industrial support services, equipment leasing and other ancillary services.

    Besides, the enterprise should be wholly Nigerian owned and must source its raw materials for the project locally but could source plant and machinery either locally or from abroad. The projects to be financed must be financially and economically viable, and should have positive impact especially in employment creation in the operating environment.

    According to NERFUND statutes, the expected project could be a start-up, expansion, rehabilitation or diversification of existing business while the beneficiaries are expected to own 10 per cent equity of the proposed business. The prospective beneficiary must have a limited liability company or registered enterprise and can only access between N100,000 and N5 million.

  • CIBN chief backs N220b MSMEs’ fund

    The President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Mrs. Debola Osibogun, has said the Federal Government’s decision in launching the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development Fund, power sector reforms and establishment of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinancing Company, are steps in the right direction.

    Speaking during a dialogue with President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja, Mrs. Osibogun said government has also created specialised funding for key sectors of the economy, such as Agriculture, Education, Maritime, Information Communication Technology and Textiles, among others.

    “We are happy to note that the banking industry remains a very dependable ally in promoting these transformations across all sectors of the economy and is also working assiduously towards achieving the nation’s goal to be one of the top 20 economies in year 2020,” she said.

    The CIBN chief described the institute as 51-year-old self regulatory, professional banking institute, chartered by an Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with the statutory responsibilities of human capacity development for the banking industry; professional certification and maintenance of ethical standards among practitioners.

    “The Institute is overtly poised to coordinate and harmonise the strength of all  its constitutent corporate and individual members;  and other relevant stakeholders (local and International) for value addition to the Nigeria project,” she said.

  • Mobile money target: The banks’, telcos’ connection

    Mobile money target: The banks’, telcos’ connection

    The controversy over who controls the mobile money market seems to be stalling the project. If not resolved, it could hamper stakeholders’ target of raising the value of mobile money transactions by 2015, COLLINS NWEZE writes.

    The success recorded in mobile money business so far is below expectation. The platform which allows mobile phones to be used to send and receive money, buy recharge cards, pay subscription fees for DStv, pay electricity bills, use of Point of Sale (PoS) terminals to pay for goods and services, among others, is under threat.

    For the Head, Payments & Oversight at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Musa Jimoh, the mobile money framework identifies the roles of every participant in the mobile money operation in the country. He said the apex bank excluded telcos from leading any of the mobile money schemes due to certain reasons.

    Firstly, he said the telcos are not regulated by the CBN, and that  the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) and  the telcos are not banks that enage in settlement schemes.

    These hiccups, not withstanding, stakeholders in the mobile money business expect transactions to hit N1.1 trillion by 2015. Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)  showed a rise in mobile money transactions to N93 billion in January-October 2013, from N31.5 billion in 2012. It said that sustained growth at this pace would meet analysts’ aggressive forecast of N1.10 trillion in 2015.

    Head Equities Markets at FBN Capital, Olubunmi Ashaolu, said the rapid expansion of e-payments, have resulted in major fiscal and developmental benefits as well as new revenue streams for Information Technology providers, mobile operators and banks.

    He agreed that there is a momentum, but nonetheless explained that the expansion is at a low base, saying an estimated 46 per cent of the adult population has no access to financial services. CBN data showed total e-payments of N2.1 trillion in 2012, of which Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transactions accounted for N1.98 trillion, or 94.7 per cent of the total.

     

    Role of stakeholders

    Jimoh explained that Mobile Money Operators (MMOs) are to issue, store and process the e-money which is kept in subscribers’ wallets. They also recruit and manage agents; deploy, operate and manage risks associated with the technology for providing the mobile money services.

    He added that settlement banks manage the pool of funds for the subscribers, provide settlement on behalf of mobile money operators and provide monthly statement of pool account transactions to the MMOs. Also, the telcos provide the telecommunications infrastructure, and agent network services.

    Analysts insist that the Telcos and banks which are expected to jointly drive the process are working at cross roads. In other countries, the process could be: operator-led model, bank-led model, collaboration model and peer-to-peer model. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) chose the bank-led model in which case a bank deploys mobile payment applications or devices to customers and ensures merchants have the required point-of-sale (PoS) acceptance capability to carry out the transaction.

    Mobile network operators’ network merely serves as vehicle through which transactions take place. This is based on the regulatory framework for mobile payment services issued by the apex bank in 2009, which disenfranchised telcos from operating mobile money, except through strategic partnerships with licensed operators.

    The Telcos, have consistently advised the CBN to allow them participate in the regulation of the subsector, but nothing has come out of the demand. The apex bank, which solely regulates the business, has given the Telcos little or no opportunity for control.  This model has deprived the business the needed technological and infrastructural backing critical to its success.

    The disagreement has adversely impacted on implementation process of the mobile money platform in the country. General Manager, IBM Africa, Taiwo Otiti, said strategy being adopted by the key stakeholders is stifling the success of mobile money operation in the country.

    Speaking during an interview with The Nation, he said: “The approach we have taken in mobile money is the challenge. We have over 30 million unbanked, compared with over 100 million mobile phone users. The guys who are unbanked, they may have mobile phones, but how would you get them into the financial system. You must be able to get into his lifestyle for you to be able to get him subscribe to mobile money scheme. Many of the stakeholders are doing that.”

    Otiti said that getting the mobile money scheme running requires both the payment and supply chain properly defined and implemented by the stakeholders. He said there is need for a paradigm shift that sees all the stakeholders working together. “The telcos can’t also do without the banks, so also are the banks. It is only by collaboration, will the mobile money project begin to deliver the needed results,” he said.

    He said the stakeholders should not think of who owns the customer, but focus on products and services that can attract more customers into the scheme because nobody owns the customer. “Nobody owns the customer. What is important is collaboration that ensures that end-user gets what he wants. We need to see mobile money in terms of what the customer can get and use in improving his lifestyles,” he said.

    The CBN said regulation of the telecom sector is not within its control, making it difficult for it to guide mobile money operations under the telco-led model being advocated by telecom operators.

    It said the risk involved in mobile money operations are so high, that regulation has to be closely implemented. It added that it does not control what the telcos are doing, unlike in the existing bank-led model where it provides the operating guidelines.

    He said mobile money operators are being encouraged to increase access to financial services through mobile phones that are either directly linked to a bank account or use of mobile wallets as intermediary virtual money accounts.

    Experts insist that the current regime of mobile money regulation, which is being bank-driven, is not friendly to telecoms companies who provide the mobile payment platform. They said that though there was a lot that telecoms companies could contribute in a cashless economy, their current mandate was limiting.

    The thinking is that since the mobile payments business is 90 per cent dependent on the mobile industry, it was unfair that the mobile networks are prevented from advertising their various mobile payment products which are the foundation on which the bank products operate.

    From the customer’s mobile phone, to the mobile payments system and feedback to the mobile phone, the mobile payment transaction utilises mostly mobile resources, makes use of mobile time and is supported largely by mobile engineers, but unfortunately the CBN has restricted telecom companies from advertising in the mobile payments space.

    Analysts also think that telecom companies should be allowed to speak about the capabilities of their networks, the quality of user experience and the choice of mobile payment services available on their networks.

    It is now roughly two years since the first mobile money went live and approaching a year since cashless economy came into operation. Meanwhile, none of the individual players can boast of having more than 10,000 active subscribers.

    The CBN said over the next few years, the focus of the regulator will be to strengthen the institutional and regulatory frameworks to achieve improved financial inclusion.  The application of mobile technology for financial services especially in rural areas will ensure that a large percentage of the population outside the formal banking system would have access to financial services using one of the three models of card-based, account-based and virtual account.

    CBN statistics showed that only 26 million Nigerians own a bank account out of a population of 167 million populations. With telecoms subscriber base put at about 120 million by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), there are indeed limitless opportunities for the country to achieve financial inclusion by bringing the large numbers of the unbanked to the banking sector through mobile money,” he said.

    The NCC said critical success factors for mobile payment in the country are the integrity and security of the end-to-end transition during a payment transaction process. He said the chain of transaction must be secured from initiation to authentication. Therefore, confidentiality and integrity of the data transition are critical factors in mobile payment.

    The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has called on stakeholders in the mobile money business to seek ways of extending the service to a larger proportion of the population.

    NDIC’s chief, Umaru Ibrahim who made this known during a roundtable discussion on mobile money services held in Lagos, said that there are over 100 million mobile phone lines in the country.

    He said: “According to Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFiNA) survey, the rural population is 71 per cent, while 76.2 per cent of the population remains unbanked. Mobile phone ownership is 55.6 per cent in the rural areas.”

    He explained that effective rendering of mobile banking financial services can be a key mechanism in achieving the objective of National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) based on the huge success recorded by Kenya, Uganda and South Africa in enhancing financial inclusion through mobile financial services.

    Ibrahim said mobile banking subscribers will soon get deposit insurance coverage, with each subscriber guaranteed up to N200,000, or N500,000 as applicable to Microfinance Banks/Primary Mortgage Banks and Deposit Money Banks(DMBs) respectively, in the event of bank failure.

    He explained that if a bank fails, the insured mobile account can be transferred to another sound bank, to further engender public confidence in the system and promote financial stability.  According to him, the framework for extending deposit insurance to individual customers of mobile payment services is being finalised.

    Razak Olaleye, a mobile money analyst said Telcos are licensed to offer telecoms services and not banking services. According to him, the decision was made because the CBN does not regulate telcos and if the telcos are allowed to lead mobile money, it will mean putting two critical segments of Nigeria’s economy in the hands of a few companies. This, they believe, portends great risk for the country.

    World Bank said the global remittance market has grown rapidly over the past decade. In 2010, remittances through official channels amounted to $440 billion, of which, developing countries received an estimated $325 billion. The majority of these transactions are still cash-to-cash transactions, but the share of digital transactions is steadily increasing.

    Driven by the development of mobile money systems in emerging markets, experts estimate that $16 billion worth of international money transfers will be received with mobile phones in 2015.

    In Nigeria, the scheme is however, confronted with many problems but the CBN said the draft National Payments System Bill, which is undergoing legislative passage, is expected to address the legal barriers to electronic payments such as the admissibility of electronic evidence in the law courts.

    Managing Director, Mobile Money Africa, Mr Emmanuel Okogwale, agrees that there are still challenges. According to him, most of the companies licensed to do mobile payment are yet to have accredited agents who will reside in urban, semi-urban and rural areas. He argued that without well trained mobile money agents, the implementation would not be seamless as agents with the requisite tools and handsets are the infrastructure needed to deliver the money to the customers.

  • Oil price fall political, says Sterling Bank CEO

    Oil price fall political, says Sterling Bank CEO

    The Chief Executive Officer, Sterling Bank Plc, Yemi Adeola, has described the continuous fall in prices of crude oil as purely political.

    Speaking at end of year media chat in Lagos at the weekend, the bank chief said the fundamentals of the oil industry, do not justify the fall in prices.

    “What has happened is purely political. The fundamentals in the oil industry does not justify the sharp fall in prices. It will get to a point, after all the political issues are resolved, the price will bottom-out, and will start bouncing bank. This is not the first time that oil prices will go down. In 2008/2009, it tested $47 per barrel not for too long, and it bounced back. This one will drag for a while, maybe six months or so, but it will bounce back,” he predicted.

    Adeola said he does not want to discuss the politics of the US and the Gulf countries but the truth is that in advanced countries, banks do not panic when crude oil prices go down, because that asset is there and it is permanent.

    “For as long as you have proven reserves, what you need do is restructure the tenor of your loans.  So, if a facility is for five years and oil price goes down, I will not get my money in five years, but I will get it in 10 years by simply restructuring the loans. In Sterling Bank , we looked at oil accounts in our books and there is nothing to worry about. We stress tested them, and found that our customers can still do well even if oil price drops to $50 per barrel,” he said.

    He said the plan of the bankis to become the top six lender in Nigeria by 2020 even as it desires to be a bank of choice in the consumer banking segment of the society. “We will continue to diversify our retail funding base, to ensure that our non-performing loans do not exceed three per cent, even though the industry threshold is five per cent,” he said.

    The bank, he added, will also continue to diversify its income stream, maintain its investment grade, and post double-digit revenue year-in-year out.  “For our customers, we want to add value to whatever proposition they bring to us. We are going to take different sectors and see how we can keep adding value to the sectors. As long as your customers are happy with you, they will continue to come to you. We have grown our market share from one  per cent to three per cent, and we will keep gaining market shares,” he said.

    He explained that lenders offer similar services, but what differentiates one from another is its ability to deliver on its promises to customer. “That is what distinguishes us from the bank next door. And we are saying, as long as you are able to render quality customer services, the business and revenue will grow,” he said.

  • Access Bank, NBA partner on customised card

    Access Bank, NBA partner on customised card

    Access Bank Plc has partnered with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to promote electronic payment by introducing a customised card that makes banking easier for members of the group.

    The Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe who unveiled the card in Lagos at the weekend, explained that the partnership involves the introduction of an NBA customised payment card for members of the group is mutually beneficial.

    In his opening remarks, Wigwe said: “this partnership with the NBA is mutually beneficial and very exciting. This payment card is the first of its kind in the industry and signifies unique proposition. The card will serve as a payment tool and also as a means of paying bills online”.

    Wigwe said the world is fast embracing cash-less banking initiative, and the use of cards is another means of promoting the policy driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria, banks and other stakeholders.

    The bank CEO said the lender has built a strong franchise by adhering to socially responsible goals and is taking strategic steps to promote financial inclusion.

    “Access Bank has evolved over the past three years to become a largely diversified bank with a strong retail presence. Now, what we are doing is not just looking at the top corporates, we are looking at what we can do with each of our stakeholders. What that means is that whether it is a small business, or an individual, we strive to meet everybody’s aspiration,” Wigwe said.

    The NBA President, Augustine Alegeh, praised the bank for the innovation and commitment to the group, adding that the partnership will benefit both parties. He said the value proposition embedded in the product is exceptional and will lead to the overall growth and development of the Nigerian payment industry.

    “Members of NBA will be able to enjoy services like salary advance, loan to lawyers, special car loan scheme and other numerous benefits that come with banking with Access Bank and using the card. The beauty of it all is that you do not need an Access Bank account to own one of these cards,” he said.

    Alegeh said the card which can also serve as an identity card will help to weed out quacks in the legal profession as well as deepening the Nigeria financial system.