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Moniepoint CEO seeks collaboration in fighting financial sector fraud

Stakeholders bet on collaboration to drive financial inclusion

Tosin Eniolorunda, Moniepoint Inc’s Group chief executive officer

Tosin Eniolorunda, Group CEO, Moniepoint Incorporated has noted the need for all players in the financial services sector to come together in tackling fraud.

Eniolorunda, who said this during a courtesy visit to the Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe in Lagos
noted that Nigerian financial institutions have reported N159 billion ($201.5 million) lost to fraud since 2020.

Nigeria’s financial system has come under renewed scrutiny against the backdrop of the increase in the value of electronic payment transactions in first quarter (Q1) of 2023 and the challenges posed by bad faith actors who exploit gaps in the payment systems.

Onyeali-Ikpe, who welcomed the Moniepoint boss used the opportunity to reaffirm her bank’s appreciation for the patience and understanding demonstrated during its banking channel integration optimisation which resulted in service disruptions and the inability of Moniepoint customers to receive financial inflow.

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Fidelity Bank recently announced to its customers and the general public the resumption of interbank transfers to all licensed financial institutions in the country. This was following speculative reports that the bank had imposed transaction restrictions on some neo banks operating in the country.

During conversations around the growth of the digital payments segment and contributions of the financial services to Nigeria’s socio-economic development, Eniolorunda used the occasion to stress the point that Moniepoint as a responsible and compliant organisation takes customer KYC very seriously. “KYC is not merely an acronym but indeed a cornerstone in establishing trust, ensuring security, and complying with regulatory standards. All accounts created on our platform have BVN verification and in addition to this we perform a liveliness check at the point of onboarding. This is a comparison of the account holder’s life picture and the BVN image as a way to reduce impersonation,” Eniolorunda maintained.

He continued, “We have zero tolerance for fraud and typically go all out to ensure that we track fraudsters and fraudulent transactions on our platforms. We have deployed and utilize robust fraud detection systems and technologies that can analyse patterns, identify anomalies, and detect suspicious activities in the system. As such we are better empowered to identify potential fraud incidents and trigger alerts for further investigations and remedial actions.”

As partners in deepening the CBN’s mandate of ensuring provision of adequate and convenient financial services to consumers and guaranteeing their protection as well as the various undercurrents in the financial services industry, Moniepoint and Fidelity agreed to work closely together to develop a tightly knit mechanism to stem the menace of fraudulent transactions and collaboratively push through in addressing payment challenges in the country.

Iheanyi Nwachukwu, is a creative content writer with over 18 years journalism experience writing on banking, finance and capital markets. The multiple awards winning journalist is Assistant Editor, BusinessDay. Iheanyi holds BSc Degree in Economics from Imo State University; Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Management from University of Lagos. Iheanyi has attended several work-related trainings including (i) Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (Pan African University, Lagos); (ii) News Agency Journalism (Indian Institute of Mass Communication {IIMC}, New Delhi, India); and (iii) Capital Markets Development and Regulations (International Law Institute {ILI} of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA).

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