FirstBank, Visa partner to deploy Naira Visa debit card for inclusive retail payments - ITREALMS

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Premier banking giant First Bank of Nigeria Limited has partnered with global payments leader Visa to launch the Naira Visa Debit Card, reports ITREALMS.

The deployment represents a standardized transformation in retail banking, strategically engineered to lower the entry barrier for electronic transactions and bring secure, everyday digital payment capabilities within seamless reach of millions of Nigerian consumers.

Smashed: How Interior Minister Tunji-Ojo corrected visa error hindering Nigeria’s education export ambition - ITREALMS

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A major administrative flaw within the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) payment portal that inadvertently classified international students as highly-paid expatriate workers, thereby levying exorbitant visa fees, has been swiftly corrected following an intervention led by former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, reports ITREALMS.

The issue, which directly threatened Nigeria’s ambition to become an education export hub, was exposed during a recent visit by Mr. Chidoka to the Lux Terra Leadership Foundation in Abuja. Mr. Chidoka detailed the encounter with the founder of Lux Terra, Rev. Fr. George Ehusani, who highlighted the massive financial barrier facing their newly admitted international students. 

US gives new directive on Nigerian immigrant visa - ITREALMS

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The United States Mission to Nigeria has given a new directive with regards to immigrant visa applications, reports ITREALMS.

According to the public announcement on its Twitter handle via X @UsinNigeria on Tuesday, informed that beginning from January 1, 2025, applicants must visit the Consulate General in Lagos, at least twice during the immigrant visa process.

Konga, Visa in e-Commerce collabo - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The electronic-commerce (eCommerce) giant, Konga, is collaborating with Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments to revolutionize the e-commerce sector in Nigeria, reports ITREALMS.

By leveraging the delivery of digital and secure payments solutions across key segments of the Konga Group’s business portfolio, the strategic partnership is positioned to drive greater efficiency in the sector.

While ensuring a digitally-driven and rewarding payment experience for consumers, the partnership will offer shoppers and merchants on Konga’s online platform as well as walk-in customers to its growing number of offline stores nationwide, a seamless digital payment experience when they pay exclusively with Visa.

Among the many exciting benefits of this partnership, shoppers who use the KongaPay app will be issued a digital Visa card which will enable them to make payments everywhere Visa is accepted. In addition, users of the KongaPay app will be able to pay digitally at the time of delivery of their items by simply scanning the Quick Response (QR) code provided by Kxpress delivery agents – a development that will lend further ease and convenience to the payment process and elevate standards in the e-commerce sector.

“Partnerships are key for us at Visa, as we constantly look for new opportunities to ensure that more people have access to unique payment experiences that are seamless, fast and secure. We are extremely delighted to unveil this strategic partnership with Konga which is positioned to further simplify the payment process and raise standards in the Nigerian e-commerce sector,” said Kemi Okusanya, General Manager, Visa West Africa.

“When it comes to making e-commerce transactions, people are continuously looking for the most convenient and secure ways to pay for products and also use several payment platforms when they travel to other parts of the world. What we have done with this partnership is to incentivize the process and provide more value to customers who pay with Visa,” she added.

On his part, Nick Imudia, co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Konga Group, disclosed that the partnership with Visa holds immense potential for e-commerce in Nigeria, owing to the numerous opportunities it offers to revolutionize the payment process and optimize offerings in the sector.

“With this partnership, we are bound to witness a digitally-driven and effortless payment experience for all classes of customers on the Konga platforms – online shoppers, visitors to our offline stores nationwide, merchants, third-party clients and other stakeholders. This development is not only momentous in view of its far-reaching implications for the growth of e-commerce in Nigeria, but one that will go a long way to boost customer experience and confidence in the sector.”

“Our excitement knows no bounds, especially in view of the many benefits this strategic partnership will unfold for our customers and millions of Nigerians in the days and weeks ahead,” he concluded.

Chuks Egbune/Editor

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3 winners emerge @Visa, LSETF Cashless Lagos Hackathon - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

World’s leader in digital payments, Visa, has announced three winners from the just concluded Cashless Lagos Hackathon in partnership with Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), reports ITREALMS.

The finalists emerged after a three-day hacking boot camp hosted at the Vibranium Valley in Lagos. The winning solutions beat three other contenders to emerge as champions.

Blended won the grand prize of N2 million with its solution that allows merchants get validation of transactions via USSD with mobile phone numbers as User pass and authentication. Maverick took the second positon of N1million with a mobile-based solution that allows merchant pay in advance for services, schedule appointments, while also helping them keep track of their payment inventories.

The third prizewinner LagosPay developed a solution that collects payments electronically, by leveraging already existing payment channels, and incentivizing payments with rewards and points, clinching a N500,000 reward in the process. The grants will be used for the development of the solutions, courtesy of Visa.

Speaking at the event, Kemi Okusanya, General Manager, Visa West Africa, expressed Visa’s deep commitment in ensuring that merchants have access to innovative technologies to make and receive payments. Kemi said: “We constantly strive to reduce reliance on cash, and encourage the development of a digital payments ecosystem for both individuals and businesses. I am very impressed with the quality of solutions developed by these teams and look forward to seeing them adopted by businesses across Nigeria”.

Also speaking, Akintunde Oyebode, the Executive Secretary LSETF, said: “I am pleased with the winning teams and the possibility of using these solutions to solve payment issues experienced by small businesses. If we are able to help businesses optimize payments and grow, it will not only improve the State’s economy, but also create new jobs.

Lagos Innovates will continue to build platforms that develop homegrown technology solutions usable in Nigeria and beyond. I will like to thank our partner, Visa; and other implementation partners, Passion Incubator and Venture Garden Group. This hackathon further demonstrates how partnerships between Government and socially responsible companies can spur development and create double or triple bottom line impact.”

The hackathon hosted an array of Nigerian software developers, programmers, coders, data specialists and designers who developed technology-based financial solutions to allow MSMEs make and receive payments, make bulk purchases and keep transaction inventory.

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Visa partners Lagos to digitize payments for MSMEs - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

As part of its efforts to educate and enable Nigerians to reduce reliance on cash, Visa, the global leader in payments, today announced the launch of the Cashless Lagos Hackathon in partnership with Lagos Innovates, an initiative of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), reports ITREALMS.

The three-day event, which is scheduled to hold from 14 September until 16 September, will seek to digitize payments for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and will be delivered by Passion Incubator (www.passionincubator.ng). The hackathon is open to software developers, programmers, coders, data specialists and designers who have the capacity to create lasting technology based financial solutions for MSMEs who are beneficiaries of LSETF.

Participants can access lagosinnovates.ng/hackathon for details on the hackathon and have until 11 September 2018 to submit their applications. Selected applicants will meet with the MSMEs on the first day of the hackathon to understand their pain points before the commencement of the hackathon.

Through the hackathon, participants are required to come up with solutions that would allow the business owners to receive payments, make bulk purchases and keep inventory of their transactions, thereby allowing access to bank loans and government grants.

Kemi Okusanya, Country Manager, Visa West Africa said; “This partnership is part of our strategy to help merchants become more financially responsible. What makes this hackathon unique is that it encourages Nigerians to develop locally relevant solutions, tailored for their specific environment and needs. We are always looking to support innovative programmes that can better equip individuals to manage their money more effectively, and these solutions will achieve that.”

Six teams will present their ideas to the judging panel constituted of representatives from a cross section of business and payments experts drawn from the public and private sectors. Three finalists will be selected based on impact, design, innovation, and customer validation. The winning teams will receive ₦2million, ₦1million and ₦500,000 grants respectively to be used for the development of the solutions, courtesy of Visa.

Commenting on the partnership, the Executive Secretary LSETF, Akintunde Oyebode said; “We are pleased to have Visa on board with us for the second edition of our Hackathon. Lagos State is the economic capital of Nigeria and the home of Africa’s leading startups. Our partnership with Visa puts us in a unique position to help uncover, support and apply emerging technologies to some of the biggest transaction challenges faced by entrepreneurs. We are excited by the possibility of leveraging technology, especially digital channels to improve our current cash-based economy”.

Nenye Dom/GEE

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Nigeria tops United States visa refusal in 2015

Exclusive@ITRealms:

Out of the $23 million the United States of America (USA) made from rejected visa applications across Africa in 2015, Nigeria is topping the list with a total of 202,267 visa applications out of the 407,652.27 while 65,858 were rejected, reports ITRealms.

Also within the year under review, ITRealms exclusively gathered that Nigeria has a total of 136,409 applications granted visa with none exceeding 24 months validity.

According to data made available to ITRealms by Africa Fact Zone, the Republic of Zimbabwe followed on the rate of unsuccessful applications with 20,965, while Ethiopia has 10,108; Ghana recorded 14,972 and Kenya having 6,174 within the top 5 most unsuccessful countries in 2015.

The Gambia was the most refused country for US visa within the year under review with 75.64 per cent rate, followed by Somalia with 64.60 per cent rate, Ghana – 63.28 per cent; Eritrea scoring 55.67 per cent out of the 143,571 total refusals.

However, most successful rate went to South Africa which has 5 per cent refusal rate whereas having 48,432 total visa granted with 120-month equals to 10 years validity of multiple entries, alongside Senegal which got 120 months validity too, even as The Gambia, Kenya and Ghana has 60 months validity respectively.

Zimbabweans under the review achieved 36 months validity followed by the likes of Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia, Angola; in turn got the award of 24 months for their citizens.

The dataset, ITRealms further gathered covered some 16 African countries included DR Congo, Tanzania, Zambia, Cote d’Ivoire among others.

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Nigeria sets 2017 to commence AU free visa entry

ITRealms:

The Federal Government has explained that the recently endorsed African Union (AU) passport which entitles citizens for free entry, reports ITRealms.

Disclosing this at the weekend’s Town Hall in Abuja, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, confirmed that African travelers will no longer be required to obtain visas to enter the country from 2017, although he was not precise on the takeoff time.

He said the visa free idea was in agreement with the African Union (AU) decision for a single passport and a visa free travel for all African citizens within the continent by 2020.

ITRealms gathered that the proposal is to boost integration in addition to enabling free movement of people and goods.

Recalling that Nigerians do not require visas to travel within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) but still encounter tough visa conditions imposed by other African countries in other regions.

The policy, he explained, will enlarge economic space for Nigerian people as 10 per cent of the trading is only among African countries, who mainly prefer formal trading with nations outside the continent.

“We are firmly in support of the African single passport and the proposed Free Trade Area in the continent from next year, which will enable Nigerian manufacturers and entrepreneur to have a larger market for their produce. Nigeria wants to extend the free movement of people across the continent beyond the ECOWAS as unrestricted movement of people will promote trade,’’ he said.

Onyeama emphasised that the government is ready to promote economic development in the country by attracting foreign direct investments in addition to promoting export and market access for Nigerian business men.

Chuks Egbune/ThisDay/GEE

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Pix: Geoffrey Onyeama

UBA tops‘Prepaid Innovative Product of the Year’ 2015

  

 ITRealms

   
 

 United Bank for Africa (UBA) Cameroon has topped the "Prepaid Innovative Product of the Year" award for its innovative "Cobranded Student ID Visa Prepaid" concept in the 2015 edition of the Visa sponsored Prepaid Summit in Middle East,ITRealms reports.

UBA’s emergence came with "Cobranded Student ID Visa Prepaid"which aims to provide universities and students with a multi-function Visa card.

 
 The event which held in Dubai, according to the company press release by the Africa Press Organisations and made available to ITRealms indicated that over 150 leading participants were in attendance.

ITRealms equally reports that various awards were presented during a ceremony to regional financial institutions, including a significant number based in Africa and the Middle East, namely Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Banque Al Jazira, BanqueLibano-Française, Commercial Bank of Qatar, SCC Bank, Kuwait Finance House and United Bank of Africa (UBA) Cameroon were honoured.

UBA’s Cobranded Student ID Visa Prepaid concept, ITRealms further learnt serves as an identification card for the student, with information identifying the student and indicating his or her department and university year, this reloadable prepaid card can also be used internationally and is reputed as the first prepaid programme of its kind in Francophone Africa.

Cyriacus Nnaji/ GEE

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Visit Senegal from May 1 without visa

ITRealms:

The Senegalese government will by May 1, 2015 commence implementation of its new tourism policy of entry without visa, reports ITRealms.

This came in the wake of suspected decline of business especially for enterprises along the coastlines over Ebola outbreak last year which is reportedly surfaced a few weeks back.

As said by President Macky Sall in a state address to Senegalese, this has become imperative to give boost to the tourism industry and nation’s economy at large.

He also proclaimed that government taxes on air fares would be revisited for the purpose of reducing it by at least half in order to make Senegal more competitive a destination.

Senegal, ITRealms gathered, recorded one case of Ebola last year, but since endeavoured to contain it.

 

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American Express, MasterCard, Visa endorse SkySIM

Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) offers a new Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) platform also tagged SkySIM CX SIM-card that allows several different Near field communication (NFC) applications to be executed securely and simultaneously on a single SIM card, just as it gets green light from the American Express, MasterCard, and Visa.

Press Officer of the company y, Mr. Stefan Waldenmaier confirmed this to ITRealms says that the SkySIM CX SIM-card family provides protected areas that can be used for electronic payment and ticketing applications and for customer loyalty programmes.

According to him, network operators will be able to expand their service offerings for banks, public transit authorities, and other service providers.

The first product in the new SkySIM CX family, he said, received EMVCo, American Express, MasterCard, and Visa approval, thus confirming that it meets the requirements for secure payment systems such as American Express ExpressPay, MasterCard PayPass, and Visa payWave. Just as the SkySIM CX family also supports the transit applications MIFARE, CIPURSE, and Calypso.

In addition, he said, the new SIM cards have up to 1.3 megabytes of memory in the highest-capacity version, enabling them to store data for multiple applications.

“They contain a powerful processor capable of loading applications in a minimum of time. The operating system is highly scalable thanks to its modular architecture,” he said.

The new product family gives network operators an opportunity to create new business models. As well as offering their own applications, they will now be able to set up highly secure areas on the SIM card – referred to as “containers” – for third-party applications. Service providers can run their own applications in these containers, in return for a fee payable to the network operator. This will help to bring the widespread introduction of NFC services another step closer.

For end users, the new SIM cards provide more than just a means of using their mobile device as a public transit ticket or loyalty card. If they own two or more accounts, they can even decide on the spur of the moment which one they wish to use for a particular payment transaction. Devices equipped with the new SIM card can also serve as personal ID for access to company premises.

Axel Deininger, Group Senior Vice President at G&D says the outstanding feature of the new SIM card is not only its functionality but also its security.

“The card has been tested and approved by EMVCo as an integral unit, and not a single weak point has been detected. This latest addition to our NFC portfolio enables us to offer network operators a complete secure package comprising hardware, software, and services, in the form of SIM cards, a mobile wallet, and trusted service management services,” he said.

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