The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Tag: Banks

  • CBN Steps Up Bank Checks to Block Terrorism Financing

    CBN Steps Up Bank Checks to Block Terrorism Financing

    Precious Nwonu, Enugu

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has rolled out a stronger supervisory framework aimed at deterring the use of Nigerian banks and financial institutions for terrorism financing and other financial abuses.

    In an official statement, the apex bank’s Acting Director of the Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Department, Hakama Sidi-Ali, announced that the CBN has made terrorism financing supervision one of its foremost current priorities. This aggressive focus forms part of the bank’s ongoing commitment to thoroughly protect the Nigerian financial system from abuse by illicit actors.

    Sidi-Ali explained that this newly reinforced push explicitly covers four broad operational areas: how financial institutions manage terrorism financing risk, how they monitor transactions for signs of terrorism financing, how they execute targeted financial sanctions, and how they report suspicious transactions linked to terrorism. Rather than sitting back and waiting for problems to surface on their own, the apex bank plans to implement a strict, risk-based approach, ensuring that banks and institutions seen as more exposed to these risks will attract closer supervisory attention.

    “This supervisory focus also supports Nigeria’s ongoing domestic and international cooperation on counter-terrorism financing, counter-proliferation financing, financial integrity, and the protection of the financial system. Further supervisory engagement will be undertaken as appropriate,” Sidi-Ali stated.

    According to her, the bank will continue to apply a risk-based supervisory approach, utilizing both on-site and off-site engagements.

    This strategy is designed to enforce highly effective Anti-Money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism, and Countering Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) controls across the financial sector, in strict alignment with existing legal and regulatory obligations. She added that further supervisory engagement will be undertaken as appropriate, indicating that additional enforcement steps could follow depending on what the CBN’s checks turn up.

    In tandem with these regulations and in line with the provisions of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act (TPPA), 2022, the Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC) recently designated six individuals and three entities as terrorist financiers, subsequently adding them to the official Nigeria Sanctions List.

  • Banks to charge N6.98 for every USSD transactions.

     

    Some banks have notified their customers that they will start charging them N6.98 for every USSD transactions.

     

    However, experts have said that excessive charges by banks could pose a threat to financial inclusion.

     

    According to them, it will increase cash transactions because many bank customers would avoid using the USSD for transactions and could also discourage the unbanked segment of the population because they would not like to pay such charges over their little deposits.

     

    A message from some of the banks, including Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank and Fidelity Bank on ‘Update on USSD transactions’ stated, “Please be informed that you are now required to pay a fee of N6.98 to your mobile network provider for every banking transaction carried out on all USSD banking platforms.

     

    “This means that when you send money to anyone using USSD, a fee of N6.98 will be charged to your bank account, which is in turn remitted in full by your bank, to your mobile network provider.

     

    “Please note that airtime and data purchases via USSD are exempt from this charge on USSD platforms.”

     

    The banks urged the customers to make use of other electronic transactions available in the banks to avoid paying the fees.

     

    A former President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, Dr. Sam Nzekwe, said too many changes by banks were unfriendly to financial inclusion drive, especially to the un-banked Nigerians.

     

    “There are many charges that the banks charge the customers, even if you don’t do any transaction. Some of these informal sectors will start running away because they cannot understand the many charges. That is why many of the informal sector still do their transactions by cash.

     

    “What an average customer wants is show me why you should charge me. But you are charging me for many things and at the end of the month you will still charge me again.”

     

    He said banks should be completely open to their customers in their transactions.

     

    A fashion designer, Balogun, said, “I have bank account but I prefer to go to bank and do my things. How much do I  have in my account that they want to be deducting charges anyhow?”

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.punchng.com