Entrenching cashless economy through secure, affordable mobile money solutions

Mobile money solutions will play a major role in integrating Nigeria’s huge informal economy which is driven by small scale farmers, traders, craftsmen and other types of small and medium sized businesses, into the formal economy.
Also, it will serve as a convenient and secure electronic payment platform for the under-banked and unbanked in Nigeria’s emerging cashless economic landscape. This is because the major infrastructure for mobile money services, which is the mobile phone, is within the reach of under-banked and unbanked Nigerians. Mobile phones are far more pervasive and accessible than traditional bank branches, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of Sales (PoS) terminals and the internet, all essential channels for financial services distribution.
Reinforcing this, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) report of July 2011,  put the level of mobile phone penetration in Nigeria at 50 percent, with over 90 million subscriptions, for 167 million Nigerians. Coming a distant second, internet penetration in the country is 28.43 percent, according to International Telecommunications Union (ITU), with 45.9 million Nigerians accessing the internet in 2010. As at June 2011, the penetration of PoS terminals was a mere 13 Point of Service terminals per 100,000 adults, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which hopes to scale it up to 2,200 PoS units per 100, 000 adults by the end of 2015.
All these demonstrate the potential of mobile phones as a distribution channel for financial services in the country. Truly so, Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), an organisation committed to deepening financial inclusion in the country, indicated that 56.5 million adults (66.6 percent of the adult population) own mobile phones, disregarding use of multiple mobile phone lines by individuals, in its research. It further disclosed that 25.3 million adults who own mobile phones are unbanked and can become banked through affordable, secure and convenient mobile money solutions. Also, 63.5 percent of Nigeria’s adult males and 76.8 percent of adult females are unbanked, while 78.8 percent of the country’s rural populations are largely unbanked. In the main, there are 59.3 million adults who are unbanked due to irregular income, unemployment and distance to the bank branch, according to the EFInA report.
Across Africa, the adoption and usage of mobile phones for electronic payments, and to bring financial services to the under-banked and unbanked is gaining currency. The continent has had several successful mobile money deployments driven by financial institutions such as Standard Bank and Commercial Bank of Africa in South Africa, Ghana, Uganda and Kenya, with Nigeria, a very important market in terms of volume, in its embryonic stage. In countries where it is fully operational, mobile money is bringing financial services to people who do not have easy access to traditional banking channels, as well as people with very small deposits and loans which are unprofitable for banks using traditional delivery models. Mobile devices have also reduced transaction costs by 50 to 70 percent in these countries, making cashless funds transfers and utility bills payment more accessible to a vast population from the comfort of their homes and offices.
Endeva, a German developmental organization, in its 2010 report stated that mobile money has fostered financial inclusion in Kenya. The organization disclosed that prior to the introduction of M-Pesa in Kenya in 2006, as a joint venture between Safaricom and Vodafone, banking transactions were expensive and many people did not have bank accounts. However, by the spring of 2010, over 9.5 million Kenyans use their mobile phones to conduct basic financial transactions such as payments for groceries in supermarkets or to transfer money to their families. This is because M-Pesa is fast, easy, no account required and, most importantly, cheap. Presently the most successful mobile money deployment with over 700 million domestic and international cashless money transfer transactions, M-Pesa accounted for $130m in revenues to Safaricom in the 2010 financial year.
Nigeria with an estimated population of 167 million people, 25.4 million bank accounts and over 90 million mobile phone subscribers has launched mobile payment services with the potential to become Africa’s biggest mobile money market. The cashless society initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria, as well as the compelling need of millions of unbanked Nigerians, are expected to drive the country’s mobile money volume to surpass Kenya’s celebrated 9.5 million M-pesa subscribers among its 39 million people, in coming years. Currently, in Nigeria, 23.8 million adults choose to save money at home, 12.9 million adults use informal societies, while 6.7 million adults use village associations, according to EFInA.
However, creating a functional mobile-money model can be complicated, especially in a country like Nigeria, calling for collaboration from two distinct domains, telephony and banking, as well as for partnerships with a variety of players such as agents, some unfamiliar, to manage cash collections and disbursements and promote adoption. As such, licensed mobile operators in the country, with the right technology, agent network, risk management process and customer service, will not only capture the opportunity in the market but also have unique know-how that would be valuable in other emerging and frontier markets, either through strategic alliances or direct investment.
Consequently, Stanbic IBTC Bank, a member of Standard Bank Group and Afripay entered into strategic partnership with Globacom Nigeria, a telecommunications services provider to launch Nigeria’s first mobile money service. The partnership avails Stanbic IBTC MobileMoney and Afripay the GloTxtCash platform to make basic financial services accessible to about 23 million Nigerians on the Globacom network, thereby breaking down the traditional distribution barriers hindering financial inclusion of millions of Nigerians. Of note is the pedigree of Standard Bank, the parent company of Stanbic IBTC Bank, in the successful deployment of mobile payment solutions in various markets on the continent such as Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa. Equally, before the advent of mobile money services in Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC Bank had shown commitment to branchless banking in banking the unbanked and under-banked, as exemplified by its E.susu product, a formal and technology-driven version of the traditional esusu savings model subscribed to by millions of artisans and traders. Leveraging this and Standard Bank’s expertise in mobile money services, Stanbic IBTC Bank’s mobile payment offering will afford individuals, as well as micro-businesses the benefit of accessing banking services such as funds transfer, bills payment, account balance information, and mini-statements from their mobile devices, thereby addressing the multifaceted transactional challenges being faced by those who reside and do business in semi-urban and rural areas.

Obinnia Abajue, Head of Personal and Business Banking at Stanbic IBTC bank said mobile money has tremendous benefits for the people and the economy. It will not only drive financial inclusion of the under-banked and unbanked, it will facilitate understanding of the country’s true Gross Domestic Product (GDP), improve national planning by government, as well as drive and entrench the cashless economy initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), targeted at reducing cost of cash handling and cost of funds in the country. Available statistics show that the CBN and the banks would have spent over N200bn on cash management by 2012. This cost can be ploughed into infrastructure development.

“This is why Stanbic IBTC bank is leveraging the growing pervasiveness of the mobile telephone and the knowledge users have of the mobile phone to deliver non-traditional, low cost financial services to unbanked artisans, traders, market women and farmers among others, as well as under-banked people. Instead of visiting bank branches, customers will be able to conduct transactions using Stanbic IBTC MobileMoney solutions on their mobile phones, or through the bank’s retail agents within their locality. We do not merely look at mobile money from the point of view of using mobile phones to conduct financial transactions, hence our solid agency model. We have been successful in implementing branchless banking, using the agency model to drive the acceptance of E.susu, a formal and technology-driven version of the traditional esusu savings model. In the same manner, Stanbic IBTC MobileMoney will benefit from peripheral support such as a contact centre and our strong and pervasive agent network,” Abajue stated.

World’s oldest twins celebrate 102nd birthdays

The world’s oldest twins celebrated their 102nd birthday together on Wednesday. Born on January 4, 1910, Ena Pugh and Lily Millward have spent each of their birthdays together.

They were presented with copies of the Guinness World Records book, which includes their entry. More from the Daily Mail:

Lily’s proud daughter Dianne Powell, 65, told Wales News Service: ‘My mum’s recovering in hospital after she slipped and fell just before Christmas. But she’s in good spirits and enjoying the attention of being one of the world’s oldest twins.

‘Ena pops in to see her in hospital when she can – they are very close. And despite the terrible weather she made a special effort to get together on their birthday.’

The English twins were born before the beginning of World War I, and they still meet up for weekly shopping trips and talk on the phone nearly every day. Lily Millward said “laughter and having a joke with each other” has been the secret to their longevity.

“We used to work on the farm all day, but we would enjoy ourselves,’ Millward said. ‘It was a lot of fun and sociable. We’ve been very lucky and we have always had good health.”

And the twins manage to get by without some modern technological innovations, including central heating. “Until my mum’s accident, they would jump on a bus on their own every Friday so they can go shopping together and have a chat over a cup of tea,” Powell said. “And they ring each other almost every evening although they are both very hard of hearing—they can’t really always know what the other is saying but just enjoy talking to each other.”

Apple holding more cash than USA

 

US President Barack Obama is known to be
an iPad owner, along with 28 million other people

Apple now has more cash to spend than the United States government.

Latest figures from the US Treasury Department show that the country has an operating cash balance of $73.7bn (£45.3bn).

Apple's most recent financial results put its reserves at $76.4bn (£46.9bn).

The US House of Representatives is due to vote on a bill to raise the country's debt ceiling, allowing it to borrow more money to cover spending commitments.

If it fails to extend the current limit of $14.3 trillion (£8.7tn) dollars, the federal government could find itself struggling to make payments, and risks the loss of its AAA credit rating.

The United States is currently spending around $200bn (£122bn) more than it collects in revenue every month.

Apple, on the other hand, is making money hand over fist, according to its financial results.

In the three months ending 25 June, net income was 125% higher than a year earlier at $7.31bn (£4.6bn).

Spending spree

With more than $75bn (£35.8bn) either sitting in the bank or in easily accessible assets, there has been enormous speculation about what the company will do with the money.

"Apple keeps its cards close to its chest," said Daniel Ashdown, an analyst at Juniper Research.

Industry watchers believe that it is building up a war chest to be used for strategic acquisitions of other businesses, and to secure technology patents.

Bookstore Barnes and Noble and the online movie site Netflix have both been tipped as possible targets, said Mr Ashdown.

The company may also have its eye on smaller firms that develop systems Apple might want to add to its devices, such as voice recognition.

Apple dipped into some of its reserves recently when it teamed-up with Microsoft to buy a batch of patents from defunct Canadian firm Nortel.

IBB tells Jonathan way out of violence

Former military President Gen. Ibrahim Babangida has told President Goodluck Jonathan that political solution, entrenchment of value system, responsible leadership, meeting people’s expectations and good governance are ways out of the present national crisis.

In a press statement yesterday, the former leader said, ”In order to arrest this ugly trend and refocus our country on the path of peaceful co-existence in spite of our manifest tribal configurations, we must begin to revisit our value system and provoke platforms where this becomes the central theme of our collective discourse.”

Blaming the leaders for the failures in the society, Babangida said it is imperative to “engage in dialogue and wider consultations in our resolve to providing lasting solutions to the challenges facing us. All our religious leaders, political leaders, traditional rulers, opinion moulders, the media, must unite to arrest this ugly phase of our political life.”

He said, “ We must begin to consciously redirect our collective energies in entrenching a culture of strong and enduring moral super-structure as a platform for sustaining our once cherished value system, adding that the failure of governments and Leaders at various levels has further disconnected the people from their leaders; reason why there has been so much angst in the land.

“There is a potential breakdown of social contract between the leaders at all levels and the led. Leaders have failed in their responsibilities at meeting the expectations of the people.

These days, the gap between the rich and poor has further polarized the socio-economic and political discourse on the basis of winner-takes-all thus making public office unethically attractive. This is why there is so much desperation in the contest for public office,” he added.

Senate releases names of those who stole Nigeria's fortunes

 

 

Oando Oil, CONOIL, African Petroleum and MRS Oil are among the powerful players in the petroleum sector that have shared over N3.655 trillion between 2006 and September 2011 in pursuit of importation of refined petroleum products.
This was revealed today in Abuja by the Nigerian Senate joint Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Appropriation and Finance.
Senator Magnus Ibe, the chairman of the committee, also disclosed that some 100 companies in the downstream sector and in construction, shared over N1.426 trillion between January and August 2011 alone.
Oando Oil is owned by Wale Tinubu, Mike Adenuga owns CONOIL, Femi Otedola owns AP, while MRS Oil is run by Aliko Dangote's brother, Sayyu Dantata. Other key players named today include Pinaccle Construction Ltd, as well as Integrated Oil and Gas, which is owned by a former Minister of the Interior, Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho.
The full list as read out by Senator Abe, is as follows:
1. Oando Nigerian Plc. – N228.506 billion
2. MRS –N224.818 billion
3. Pinnacle Construction-N300 billion
4. Enak Oil & Gas –N19.684 billion
5. CONOIl – N37.960 billion
6. Bovas & Co. Nig. Ltd. – N5.685 billion,
7. Obat N85 billion and AP; N104.5billion.
8. Folawiyo Oil - N113.3 billion
9. IPMAN Investment Limited- N10.9billion
10. ACON - N24.1billion
11. Atio Oil-N64.4billion
12. AMP- N11.4billion
13. Honeywell-N12.2billion
14. Emac Oil- N19.2billion
15. D.Jones Oil-N14.8billion;
16. Capital Oil - N22.4 billion
17. AZ Oil- N18.613billion
18. Eterna oil- N5.57 billion
19. Dozil oil- N3.375 billion
20. Fort oil-N8.582 billion.
21. Integrated Oil and Gas- N30.777 billion!

Achebe, Soyinka, Clark urge rethink of subsidy withdrawal

 

Soyinka, Achebe and Clark

•Literary giants insist on national conference •Warn against retaliation of Boko Haram attacks

Nigeria’s foremost writers have advised the government to pull the brakes on the subsidy removal that has put the nation on edge.
They also cautioned security agents against turning their guns on protesters, saying their duty is to protect citizens.
Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka, Prof. Chinua Achebe and Prof. J.P. Bekederemo-Clark yesterday issued a joint statement on the state of the nation.
They called for the convocation of a national conference to address the national questions. They also cautioned against reprisal attacks over the Boko Haram killings in the North.
The statement is another rare intervention by the eminent writers. They intervened, though unsuccessfully, in 1986, to prevent the execution of Gen. Mamman Vatsa after his conviction for coup plotting. It was during Gen. Ibrahim Babangida’s military government.
The statement entitled: “Let not this fire spread: An appeal to the Nigerian national community”, reads:
“The fears we have all secretly nursed are coming to realisation. The nightmare we have hugged to our individual breasts, voicing them only in family privacy, or within trusted caucuses of friends and colleagues - lest they become instances of materialising evil thoughts - has finally burst through into our social, physical environment. Rumblings and veiled threats have given way to eruption, and the first cracks in the wall of patience and forbearance can no longer be wished away. BOKO HARAM is very likely celebrating its first tactical victory: provoking retaliation in some parts of the nation.
“We insist however that this need not be, and should not be so. And as long as any part, however minuscule, opts for the more difficult path of envisioned forbearance, we are convinced that its responses will find neighbour emulation between homesteads, between towns and villages, between communities on all levels and indeed - states. This hard, demanding, but profoundly moral and heroic option will be recognised and embraced as the only option for the survival, and integrity of the whole. All who claim to be leaders must lead – but in the right direction!
“We urge a proactive resolve in all such claimants to leadership. It is not sufficient to make pious pronouncements. All who possess any iota of influence or authority, who aspire to moral leadership must act now to douse the first flickers of ‘responses in kind’ even before they are manifested, and become contagious. We urge that, beginning from now, leaders become true leaders in all communities, utilise the platforms of their associations, professions, clubs, places of instruction and places of worship, NGOs and other civic organisations, that they relentlessly spread the manifesto of Community – capital letters! - as an all-embracing human bond, and refuse to be sucked into the cauldron of mutual attrition that is the purpose of the religious warmongers among us.
“What is proposed here is not any doctrine of submission, of ‘turning the other cheek’, or supine supplication to divine intervention etc. etc. Very much the contrary! Self-defence is a fundamental human right and responsibility. However, we caution that we must place the total humanity of our nation above the methods and intent of a mindless, though programmed minority that are resolved to set religion against religion, community against community, destroy the internal cohesion of homes, render meaningless the very concept and imperatives of guest, strangers, the extended human family, and the universalist obligations of hosts as practiced under the finest traditions of human encounters. Our duty is to denounce the killers among us, to deny them, right from source, the sump of blood that is their nourishment, the chaos that is their ambition, and the hatred that has poisoned their collective psyche. Our mission is to prove ourselves superior to them in understanding, to leap ahead of their perverse scheming and preserve our own humanity even as they jettison theirs – if ever they even were aware of its existence.
“Calls have been made in the past - sometimes in response to a crisis within the nation, other times as an objective necessity even in the most tranquil of times - for the convening of a National conference to debate just how the nation should proceed in reinforcing civic and political life, and decide, in full freedom, the terms of her integrated existence. The government is urged to stop shying away from this project, pretending that those who happen to have been elected into the nation’s legislatures are best qualified to undertake the exercise, largely through piecemeal tinkering. This surely begs the question, since the very system and terms under which these – often dubiously – elected, serve, including the intolerable strain these institutions place upon the nation’s resources - are all at issue. That last indeed, the very inordinate exaction of running a presidential system, forms part of the impatience of the public, as new avenues for economic hardship are opened in a people’s struggle for survival, such as the recent crisis of the removal of petroleum subsidy. We call upon the government to re-think this measure. We warn the Security forces to recall that their primary duty is to protect all citizens, and most especially those in opposition to government policies, in the exercise of their democratic rights. We cannot turn a blind eye to the killing of our fellow citizens even before the earliest manifestation of popular discontent gets under way. The first single Security notch on the gun is always the signal for a countdown towards two, then three, moving to four figure statistics in the struggle for human dignity. Syria is our current cautionary instance. We know how Libya ended.
“The Security arms of government should recognise where their urgent and immediate capabilities and competence are needed, where the greatest threat to nationhood since the Nigerian Civil War has been gloatingly launched, and with a daily toll of casualties of the innocent. We call upon the Nigerian government to intensify its obligations to protect the citizenry it claims to govern. The basic professional strategy of preventive policing, which appears no longer in fashion, must be re-activated. Security may appear less glamorous than the moral imposition that is articulated in appeals such as this, but it is nonetheless a crucial partner in the very existence of civil existence and the preservation of civic dignity. Necessary measures to curb the activities of a homicidal few, no matter under what name, faceless or disguised, whose minds have been warped beyond recovery, must be taken, and without flinching. Public evidence of the effectiveness of such measures makes our call for restraint meaningful. It reduces the stress placed daily on a people’s aspirations to a visionary fortitude, and reinforces the resolve for an engagement under forbearance in the ultimate pursuit of social justice as the foundation of peaceful co-existence.”