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Tag: Heritage Bank

  • Heritage Bank backs entrepreneurial reality show

    Heritage Bank Plc has thrown its weight behind the yearly entrepreneurial reality show, The Next Titan, as Season Five of the programme kicks off.

    The bank’s Divisional Head, Corporate Communications, Fela Ibidapo, made the promise at a press conference to announce the  take off of the reality show.

    He assured the public that the bank would sustain its sponsorship of the programme because its goal aligns with the corporate aspiration of the bank.

    Ibidapo explained that the bank’s management believes that banking is not only about money making, but also about adding value to aspiring individuals, groups, communities and states.

    His words: “Banking is not necessarily about how much we make from you, but also about encouraging success of initiatives that support economic development process.

    According to him, The Next Titan is an entrepreneurial scheme that has stood out in the past four years and has contributed to employment generation in Nigeria; a nation where graduates and youths endlessly scout for job opportunities.

    He said the programme aligns with the primary focus of Heritage Bank  management to promote laudable entrepreneurial ideas to broaden economic horizon of the country for the benefit of citizens and other residents of Nigeria.

    Ibidapo said: “The Next Titan is strictly SME-focused banking initiative and we are using the opportunity to enjoin people with laudable business ideas like those who participate in the annual programme to move forward. Heritage Bank will be ready, at any time to support ideas like that.”

    He added that if the proprietors of Next Titan remained focused to its primary goal of encouraging entrepreneurship, Heritage Bank would give the scheme the required support to actualise its goal.

    Next Titan Executive Producer, Mide Kunle-Akinlaja, said the success stories of past winners  of the scheme had been phenomenal.

    According to him, The Next Titan has positively impacted on youths and other viewers.

    “We are ready again to inform you that we are set for the new season, as we have already received thousands of entries from young aspiring entrepreneurs across Nigeria. This will give these young ambitious entrepreneurs another opportunity to showcase their business ideas and battle one another for a prize of N5 million and a brand-new car to start their dream businesses,’’ he said.

     

     

    He promised the Season 5 will be more exciting; as auditions will start in Abuja at the end of the month. From there, he disclosed, the audition train would move to Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Lagos.

    The Next Titan is Nigeria’s foremost entrepreneurial reality TV show; whose importance lies in igniting entrepreneurial spirit and showcasing the possibility for transforming lives with just a business idea that can be scaled to greatness.

     

  • Heritage Bank depeens e-payment

    Heritage Bank Plc has said it is committed to innovative banking through its Transparent  MasterCard.

    Head of Corporate Communications of the bank, Fela Ibidapo disclosed this in a statement over the weekend, where he highlighted the philosophy behind the bank’s e-payments.

    According to him, there is more to e-payment than  customers are enjoying, promising achieving greater heights in e-payments that deliver unparalleled convenience and security through the Heritage Bank Transparent MasterCard.

    He said to own a Heritage Bank Transparent MasterCard is easy as the card comes with no cost beyond the cost of applying for the average MasterCard.

    He observed that there was a huge difference between the  growth in volume of e-payment and the potential available, if the number of unbanked Nigerians with access to mobile telephone services is anything to go by.

    According to him, while the volume of e-payment in Nigeria grew from N18.1trillion in 2012 to N35.1trillion in 2014 with transaction through Point of Sale (POS) also increasing from N48 billion in 2013 to N312 billion in 2014, the growth has not mirrored the huge population of mobile phone users in the country.

     

     

  • Heritage Bank, NeFF partner to check e-fraud

    Heritage Bank Plc has partnered with the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) on the prevention of electronic fraud in the Nigerian banking system.

    Managing Director/CEO of the bank, Ifie Sekibo said at unveiling of the 2017 NeFF annual report in Lagos that the bank was very proud of successes recorded by the forum, adding that the advent of the forum has undoubtedly created revolutionary effect in the conception of banking services in the industry.

    Sekibo who was represented by Executive Director, Services, Ike Williams, said financial institutions in the country had exploited these successes to introduce innovative banking products, especially e-products.

    He said Heritage Bank will continue to support the forum and advised NeFF not to rest on its oars.

    The Heritage Bank helmsman also commended Adebayo Adelabu, the out-going deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Operations as an exceptional leader who made invaluable contributions to the success of the forum.

    While unveiling the NeFF 2017 annual report, titled “Tightening the Belt of e-fraud Prevention: A 4 sided approach,” Adelabu, noted that in an environment that has witnessed fast-paced growth in both volume and value of electronic transactions, it would not be out of the ordinary if fraud attempts are also on the increase.

  • Heritage Bank promotes 350 employees

    Heritage Bank Plc has announced the elevation of about 350 of its workforce.

    Its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Ifie Sekibo, who commended the staff for their efforts, urged them to tenaciously hold to the bank’s core values in their timeless wealth journey and endless quest of delivering excellent services to both internal and external customers of the bank.

    “I commend your well-deserved promotion. I also wish to especially thank those colleagues who have not made it on this year’s list. I urge you to keep up the good work and contribution, as the organisation recognised your efforts. We promise to continue to reward and recognise your contributions in due time and to use all opportunities to demonstrate this,” MD said.

    Sekibo,  said the announcement, especially heartening in the face of the rough times occasioned by the downward trend in the economy, hence the move was part of the bank’s strategic plan to keep a vibrant workforce that will enable the bank achieve its vision of being the Nigerian most innovative banking of choice in service delivery, superior returns to its various stakeholders and as well contribute to the growth of the nation’s economy.

    Heritage Bank pioneered bank the use of computers for banking services, and pioneered its flagship “Cash Point 24/7 ATM services in Nigeria in 1990.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Heritage Bank reiterates commitment to e-payment

    Heritage Bank Plc is com-mitted to innovative banking services with its transparent MasterCard.

    Its Head of Corporate Communications, Fela Ibidapo, disclosed this in a statement over the weekend, where he highlighted the philosophy behind the bank’s e-payment offerings.

    According to him, there is more to e-payment than Nigerian banking customers are currently enjoying. He promised achieving greater heights in e-payment services, which deliver unparalleled convenience and security through the Heritage Bank Transparent MasterCard.

    Ibidapo said to own a Heritage Bank Transparent MasterCard is easy, as the card comes with no additional cost beyond the cost of applying for the average MasterCard.

    He observed that there was a huge difference between the current growth in volume of e-payment in the country and the potential available, if the number of unbanked Nigerians with access to mobile telephone services is anything to go by.

    According to him, while the volume of e-payment in Nigeria grew from N18.1trillion in 2012 to N35.1trillion in 2014 with transaction through Point of Sale (POS) also increasing from N48 billion in 2013 to N312 billion in 2014, the growth has not mirrored the huge population of mobile phone users in the country, which currently stands at more than 105 million while about 60 million Nigerians, who do not have bank accounts, have phones.

    He also said innovation was inevitable in the banking industry due to changes in dynamics across the globe, which have penetrated the Nigerian banking industry and  are driven by forces of globalisation, self-service mobile devices and regulation.

    The impact of these changes on the Nigerian banking landscape, he said, has reflected in the sharp increase in the growth of electronic payment services between 2012 and 2014 in the country. He remarked that e-payment is now a commodity and innovative e-payment is the way to go.

    He said Heritage Bank has always been driven on the path of continuous innovation, transformed its interior of banking halls and set out deposit machines in all its branches nationwide.

    Ibidapo also observed that Heritage Bank has equally launched transparent MasterCard in Nigeria and transformed small and medium scale enterprise (SME) banking approach.

    “The Heritage Bank Transparent MasterCard distinguishes its customers. It gives them the prestige and excitement of being part of innovation, which is what the card represents. The youths as well as adults will find it very attractive,” he said.

    Ibidapo added that the bank is the lender of the future because its style is quite different and it caters for everyone, whether young or old.

     

  • Heritage Bank gets tourism award

    Heritage Bank Plc has emerged Nigeria’s most innovative banking service provider, courtesy of Institute for Tourism Professionals.

    The institute, organisers of the National Tourism Transport Summit and Expo (NTTS), crowned Heritage Bank the best “Financial Institution, for Outstanding Support for Tourism.”

    The award, according to the organisers, was in recognition of the bank’s contribution to the growth and development of the tourism.

    Receiving the award on behalf of the bank at the Gala night in Abuja, the Managing Bank/Chief Executive Officer, Ifie Sekibo, represented by George Oko-Oboh, Regional Executive, Abuja & North, said it was a well-deserved honour for the bank, because the bank believes in tourism and hence its support for the sector.

    He disclosed that the bank plans to increase its investment in the sector.

    Sekibo said: “It is a well-deserved award for the bank because over the years the bank has believed in tourism and we always keep trying as much as possible to support the tourism sector.  Over the years we think it is something we have done with a quite a number of stakeholders and we have done that quite well.

    “In the coming years, we should expect more of better handshake. We intend to do more; because looking at what they are trying to achieve here now, we have seen that they are trying to take in much into the other sectors. We think we would still be there for them.

     

    “The sector is quite lucrative, but for us, what we are doing basically is like partnership. That is what we have done with them over the years.  We have done quite a few investments in the sector.”

     

     

  • Heritage Bank holds conference

    Heritage Bank Limited has held this month’s edition of the banking technique and practice meeting of the International Chamber of Commerce(ICC) Nigeria.

    The meeting held at the Victoria Island Office of the financial powerhouse attracted representatives of the ICC Nigeria as well as the experts on the trade desks of banks and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Welcoming the team, Chief Risk Officer for Heritage Bank, Dimitiri Dike noted that the dynamics in the trade and commerce deserved urgent attention. He stated that policy summersault and the need for reviews of operation systems had brought a lot of challenges that the visiting team needed to look into and proffer solutions.

    Dike charged the trade experts to review the new global order of international trade that now encourages an open account method of transaction in the global trade.

    An open account transaction in international trade is a sale where the goods are shipped and delivered before payment is due, which is typically in 30, 60 or 90 days. Obviously, this option is advantageous to the importer in terms of cash flow and cost, but it is consequently a risky option for an exporter.

    ICC Nigeria Banking Commission Chairman, Chief Raymond Ihyembe, warned that steps must be taken to tackle the possible effects of the policy.

    This, he said, became imperative in view of the fact that the economy depends on crude oil. According to him, any big drop in crude oil price in the global market usually affects the aggregate economy greatly.

    Ihyembe, therefore, said in such instances trade and commerce, which is supposed to be the safety net for the nation is again facing turbulence as a result of policy change.

    ICC Nigeria, Vice Chairman, Omolara Akanji, advised banks to attend the global ICC events where policies were formulated. She expressed concerns that banks were not at the Commission’s meeting in Miami, United States last month, where modalities of the new policy were discussed.

    According to her, their presence at such occasions would have helped to re-shape their orientation about the kind of reviews and adjustments their current structures require.

    Meanwhile, the bankers said they were aware of the new policy, but their common fear was that there was a gap between the apex bank and the Nigeria Customs. They said banks relate with the documentation presented by exporters and importers, while Customs relates with the goods involved. With this, they said, banks were incapacitated.

    Meanwhile, to address the deficiency, the chairman suggested the inauguration of a special committee that would review the status quo the policy. The suggestion was agreed to and the special committee comprising five banks was given three weeks to submit its recommendations on how to mitigate the risk of open account policy in the international trade.

  • Heritage Bank partners CeLD Innovations on Cashtoken

    Heritage Bank Plc has partnered with CeLD Innovations to launch CashToken, a consumer electronic reward system into the Nigerian economy. The product was launched at the Hyper Consumer Centricity conference held at the Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos with top 500 Nigerian CEOs in attendance.

    Speaking at the ceremony, Executive Director of Heritage Bank, Jude Monye, said CeLD is a very innovative organisation that is committed to bringing new innovation to the Nigeria’s economy to enable discerning companies to reward their customers.

    “We are at Heritage Bank believe in it, because we believe in trail blazing, which is our forte and our forte is innovation,” Monye said.

    The CashToken is an electronic reward and celebratory gift commodity, which costs only N30.00 and it, is aimed at making every patronage or celebratory gift a life-changing cash opportunity. The chairman of the occasion, Mr. Leo Stanley Ekeh said innovation in the third world comes with pain before pleasure, adding that “we are in an innovation century that the poorest man in the world will become the richest because of the power of digitizsation.”

    Mr. Lai Labode, Founder & CEO of CeLD Innovations said the company is the world’s first cash reward as a service company which has established a robust technology and business model that herald a new era of hyper consumer centricity.

    He said they are pioneering a performance based system designed to optimise consumer loyalty investments for businesses, celebratory gift value optimisation and public emotional equity for government.

    Labode said about N20 billion would be offered in the next three years of full operation of the fund; which is managed by Vetiva Capital Management, Nigerian Stockbrokers Limited and First Ally Capital.

  • Heritage Bank restates commitment to creative industry

    Heritage Bank Plc has restated its commitment to the growth and development of the creative industry, its Managing Director/CEO Ifie Sekibo, has said.

    In a statement at the weekend, the bank said Heritage Bank was committed to the industry because one of the easiest ways to solve unemployment is to get many people involved in entertainment, ading that manufacturing, banking and other sectors cannot do it alone.

    Sekibo said the music industry had done so much for the country in terms of employment and foreign exchange earnings and if more resources could be put into it, the country would be better for it.

    Besides supporting individual artistes, the bank has also partnered  some organisers to produce shows. They include Yibo Koko and Bolanle Peters, who  will produce Seki, a dance drama.

    The event, which held at the Terra Kulture Arena, was graced by members of the diplomatic corps, bank officials and lovers of arts.

    It featured notable celebrities, such as Hilda Dokubo, Monalisa Chinda Coker, Ibinabo Fiberisima, Julius Agwu, Ovunda  Ihunwo, Peace Christian, Deborah Job, Opereke Jamabo Foh and Mercy Albert.

    The bank is also partnering Multi-Choice Nigeria Limited, owners of the DSTV and GOTV brands, to bring the third season of the Big Brother Naija to viewers across Africa and beyond.

    The Big Brother Naija 2018 was recently unveiled with Ebuka Obi-Uchendu as the host with 20 house- mates battling for the winning prize of N45 million, which include a gift of N25 million and SUV Jeep.The theme of this year’s edition is “Double Wahala.”

    Also, Heritage Bank is partnering  Seagull Band, one of the five bands that participated in last year’s edition of the Calabar Festival.

    The statement said the theme of the carnival is: ‘’Migration and climate change and heritage’’, adding that it has to do with green, greenhouse effect and sustainability, protection and human development.

    “As far as this is concerned, the bank will continue to support initiatives that have to do with sustainability,” adding that migration is a depletion of human resources, depletion of values and depletion of human capital.

    “We are there as an institution to help to facilitate and to create awareness that the grass is not greener on the other side, we can develop ourselves, we can build our nation, we can build our continent and sustain it if we do the right things like planting trees, keeping our environment clean, disposing our wastes properly, we will live a very good life,” the bank said in the statement.

    Besides, Heritage Bank is partnering  the organisers of the International Festival of Contemporary Dance (IFCOD) to host the second edition of One Language, a musical production of intrigue, dance and drama by Mrs. EloInyeinengi-Etomi.

    The Federal Government has commended the bank for its sustained commitment to the growth and development of the creative industry.

     

  • Heritage Bank, GAC Motors partner on financing scheme

    Heritage Bank Plc has entered into a strategic partnership with the Choice International Group (CIG) Motors Limited to introduce a new vehicle finance scheme aimed at assisting interested and pre-qualified customers to buy brand new GAC Vehicles with ease and at affordable prices.

    The initiative tagged: “Go CAR-razy,” was facilitated by the sole representative of GAC Motors in Nigeria known as CIG, which enables individuals who meet the prescribed conditions to pay an equity contribution of 10% with 48 months tenor repayment.

    The scheme is largely for three models of cars and sport utility vehicles in the stable of GAC Motors: GS3, GS4 and GS8.

    Speaking on the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, MD/CEO of Heritage Bank, Mr. Ifie Sekibo said the auto finance scheme was tailored to suit customers’ needs with manageable monthly repayments and is best suited for individuals, organizations, corporate bodies and institutions to avail a convenient and easy access to finance options making it easier to buy and drive away a brand new GAC Motors.

     

     

    According to him, the partnership was planned to encourage customers to buy environmentally-friendly GAC vehicles instead of used cars otherwise known as “tokunbo.”

    Sekibo specifically explained that the reason for the alliance was to afford deserving customers with the ease of convenient and discounted opportunities with just 10% equity contribution, as against the 30% standard equity contribution required to own brand new GAC vehicles.

    He listed other benefits of the vehicle finance scheme, which involve competitive interest rate, discounted vehicle pricing, subsidized insurance premium, free vehicle registration.

    The Chairman of CIG, Chief Diana Chan, stressed that the automobile firm entered into partnership with the Heritage Bank because of its track record in quality service.

    According to her, “We are proud to partner with Heritage Bank on this Finance Scheme as we believe it gives Nigerians who are yarning for quality the opportunity to own the latest GAC vehicles with a soft payment plan.

    She said through independent innovation and excellent quality, GAC Motor has been widely recognized by many as a brand that offers great value at affordable prices to Nigerians.