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FirstBank’s FINTECH 5.0 Summit: Unleashing Possibilities for Operators, Customers
By Eric Elezuo
The FirstBank FINTECH Summit 5.0 held with total fulfilment of the promises made and expectations of the financial public, who waited with bated breath to experience the feeling and satisfaction only the financial giant can offer.
The event, which was in its fifth year/edition, and held via virtual, was as usual opened to the general public, who were privileged to register via https://firstbanknigeria.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NmkYfeckQqu4vjTWy5lr5w
Literally a financial technology hub, and themed “Open Banking and its Derivative Opportunities for the Financial Ecosystem”, the well attended summit was addressed by notable professionals, experts, policy influencers, regulatory officials as well as key and leading players from across the globe, with special emphasis to the Nigerian financial, banking and technology climate.
Among the discussants, who presented veritable papers were Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe, the Lead Faculty of Tekedia Institute with a PhD in Engineering from John Hopkins University, USA, who led the discussion as the Keynote speaker and Ankit Sharma of Strategy&.
Other members of the panel were the Director at Strategy&, a part of the PwC network, based out of Mexico, Ankit Sharma; CEO (Chief Plumber) at One Pipe, Ope Adeoye; Aminu Maida, Executive Director, Technology & Operations at Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS); Deputy Director, Payment Systems, Central Bank of Nigeria, Musa Jimoh; and Head, Corporate Transformation, FirstBank, Olayinka Situ, who completed the list of highly influential discussants.
Anchored by Rotus Odire, the free flowing interactive forum dealt on the importance of open banking system in Nigeria, noting that it goes beyond ‘convenience to its game-changing impact in transforming value creation, product conceptualization and closing the financially excluded gap’.
Leveraging on the CBN’s declaration that FINTECH has raked in over $500, 000, 000 to the Nigerin economy this year alone, FirstBank therefore, has positioned itself as the leading financial institution in the country, and with intimating presence in about six African countries, to initiate a conversation to continually increase earnings for the economy and provide veritable entrepreneurial opportunities for the Nigerian public. It is worthy that testimonies abound of how much FirstBank FINTECH initiative has changed lives.
Kick starting the summit, the ever performing Chief Executive Officer of First Bank of Nigeria Ltd & Subsidiaries and the event’s Chief Host, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, delivered a stunning opening speech, which captured the vision and mission of the five years old financial conversation.
Acknowledging the pioneering efforts of FirstBank as Africa’s financial inclusion and innovation pacesetter, Dr Adeduntan noted that while the event was primarily to create a global platform for conversations around the future of innovation in the financial technology space of which objective is to contribute to the evolution of banking and finance service delivery, “this years edition themed “Open Banking and its Derivative Opportunities in the Financial Ecosystem promises to be exciting and engaging with a line-up of local and international thought leaders ready to spur the conversation around the prospects for open banking. The theme recognizes the increasing pervasive role open data, cloud technology and artificial intelligence play in the financial ecosystem.” And surely, with incisive and juicy presentations from the team on ground, the event lived up to its billing.
Open banking today demonstrates the practical fusion of these variables, presenting remarkable potentials that can redefine product development, customer experience and overall value creation; with multiplier effects for both players and consumers.
It is worthy of note that FirstBank has generously taken advantage of the the Regulatory Framework for Open Banking in Nigeria as issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria on the rules and premises under which financial data sharing can take place across the financial ecosystem and the National Information Technology Development Agency’s (NITDA) Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) 2019. These, according to Adeduntan, are demonstrations of the future of regulations around Open Banking.
In its 127 years of existence, FirstBank has traversed series of regulatory transformation over the years, and is constantly keeping to promise of continuing to play its role in furthering conversations to refine regulatory frameworks and shape thoughts on industry and societal developments as was witnessed at the 5.0 summit.
He concluded: “We will also continue to demonstrate our support for start-ups and innovators in the fintech space by providing them the relevant data support and infrastructure to enable them scale appropriately.
“Every step we take continues to be geared towards strategically positioning us as the bridgehead and reference point for fintech and financial services providers across the African continent, as we will continue to lead the charge towards realizing the future of banking.”
Leading the lecture, a man described as the doctor of innovations, who doubled as one of the 60 great Nigerians listed as making Nigerians lives matter during the nation’s 60th anniversary, Professor Ndubuisi Ekekwe, took the audience on a classic tour of Mechanics of Market System, majoring on a sub-theme, Open Banking: The Grand Unification Application and Utility Age. In his dissection, Professor took the audience down memory lane, resuscitating Pythagoras theory of the world as consisting of numbers, invariably stating that human existence is a product of numbers. He proffered incredible and practical ideas to banking and application utility.
“If you understand the numbers of your customers, you will be a better bank… If you understand the numbers around anything you do on earth, you have a possibility of doing that thing better,” he said.
He itemised perceptions, expectations and needs as the major ways of setting the basis for competition, describing open banking as actually open financial services. He mentioned that across the length and breadth of the nation, the quest for open banking is actually the quest for prosperity.
Following in quick succession was the Director at Strategy&, Ankit Sharma, who spoke on Global Perceptions of Open Banking.
“In the world of open banking, there is a collaboration model that allows you to share data and services through APIs, and this collaboration is not only between financial services fund, but even with non-financial services fun,” Sharma enlightened.
He further itemised personal finance manager, credit scoring and payments as avenues to explore in the world of open banking.
A governing council member of the FINTECH Association of Nigeria and Director of Information System, Dr. Olayinka David West was next on line, as the anchor for the well endowed panel discussion. After a brief expose on the activities of open banking as it relates to fintech, she went ahead to introduce members of the panel including a representative of Central Bank of Nigeria, Director of Payment Systems Management Department, Mr. Musa Atope Jimoh, represented by Olubukola Akinwunmi, Aminu Maida, Ope Adeoye and Olayinka Situ.
All the panelists agreed that FINTECH has come to stay, and bring about the great transformation that everybody is talking about in terms of providing the derivatives of open banking and giving the operators and customers a great leverage in the world of finance.
FirstBank’s FINTECH Summit has remained a regular dish in the menu of financial inclusion in the last five years, and has assisted both operators and customers to operator seamless banking operation in the open – anywhere other than the banking hall.
The bank has through standardized and accessible open API technologies, availed innovators and product developers a wealth of big data and attendant insights. This is in addition to the potential to completely redefine standards for product conceptualization, customer satisfaction and service delivery across Africa’s largest economy.
As Dr Adesola Adeduntan says: “our annual FinTech Summit in the past four years has been a platform of leading conversations and practices that have impacted the financial technology and electronic banking eco-system which has been integral to bridging the gap and digital divide of modern banking in today’s global village. Participants at our summits have been enlightened on ways to optimally carry out their digital transactions and business activities in safe and seamless ways.”
The 2021 5.0 edition was no different.
The next edition of FINTECH Summit to be known as 6.0 is due for 2022.
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
