Banking Briefs
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SKYE Bank Plc has introduced a solution to the dwindling revenue accruing to local government councils. Bola Allison, group head, Revenue Collection and Franchise of the bank, said the product would check leakages and corruption in the collection process.
The product, known as point of payment, PoP solution, ensures that the citizens pay their taxes, levies and other statutory payments through customised point of sales terminals which are administered by the council staff. Allison said the solution would make payment convenient as eligible tax and levy payers would not have to leave their shops or go to the banks to effect payment.
She said taxpayers would be protected as the PoP system generates receipts as evidence of payment. Skye Bank, she said, was partnering with Citiserve and GEMS3 to ensure the success of the new solution. Citiserve has the patent of the solution while GEMs is a non- governmental organisation that promotes tax payment by the citizens.
Benjamin Olabinjo, chairman of Ojokoro Local Council Development Area, where the solution was adopted, urged the people of the area to embrace the new initiative as it would check revenue diversion and ensure the council would have more money to undertake more developmental programmes. He advised the people not to pay cash to anybody but to use the new payment solution to avoid being short-changed. He further asked the people to collect their receipts after making payment via the PoP solution as their proof of payment.
Ola Oyinloye, representative of GEMS3, said the PoP was made possible as a primary arrangement between the Federal Government, World Bank and United Kingdom’s Department of International Development adding that the partnership was aimed at building and delivering a systematic framework that would lead to lasting improvement in business environment, taking the poor into consideration.
Mainstreet Bank Earns Global Certification Status
MAINSTREET Bank Limited has been awarded the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard certification. The PCIDSS is a set of requirements designed to ensure companies that process, store or transmit credit/debit card information, maintain a secure environment to cope with the fast evolving payment card industry security standards.
By this recognition, the bank has earned the level 1 PCI certification, the highest rank available from the major credit card providers. “Level 1 PCI certification is only given to third-party providers who meet the council’s stringent and audited credit/debit card transaction security protocols to protect customers’ personal transaction data.
Level 1 requires an external audit for approval, which is more rigorous than lower level compliance. The process further attests to the security of the bank’s network, applications, hardware and business processes. However, the audit was performed by the qualified security assessor from Phillips Consulting, the first indigenous QSA in Nigeria,” the bank said.
Faith Tuedor-Matthews, group managing director, Mainstreet Bank, said that attaining the highest level in PCIDSS is a significant milestone for the bank being a key regulatory requirement for major electronic payment providers. According to her, the PCIDSS will further boost its customers’ confidence in the safety and protection of their electronic data and e-payment services.
She added: “Having invested enormous time and resources in technology and manpower, Mainstreet Bank is now ready to roll out several e-payment solutions to serve its customers within and outside Nigeria who desire reliable payment solutions to ease their financial needs.
IFC, First Bank Mobile Finance Agreement
INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, has signed an advisory services agreement with Firstmonie, a subsidiary of First Bank Nigeria Limited, to expand mobile financial services and agent banking in the country. The IFC said the development would boost the supply of affordable financial services to low-income individuals and small-scale entrepreneurs.
A statement by the IFC said it would provide Firstmonie with technical assistance in financial modelling, agent management and customer activation, to a value of $550,000, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Mike Ogbalu, managing director of Pridar Systems wholly owned by FirstBank and also the owners of Firstmonie, said that they are committed to expanding mobile financial services to the under-banked and low-income communities.
“With the advisory support from the IFC, we hope to achieve our goal of boosting financial inclusion through our product offerings and decrease the population of the unbanked and under-banked in Nigeria.” Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria had, in 2010, issued licences to mobile money operators but the adoption and usage have been slow due to high costs, poor agent network management and low awareness among the populace.
David Crush, manager, IFC Access to Finance, sub-Saharan Africa, said that Firstmonie and IFC aim to develop a best practice mobile money operation that would demonstrate the sustainable business case for affordable financial services in one of Africa’s most important economies.
Compiled by Chinwe Okafor
— Jun. 16, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
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