Category: Business

This is a very sad news for my pals, how will chat you guys again? It’s something that just shot my aorta, although I’d upgraded to iOS 9 Beta and Android 6. But I’d still want to keep my fam.

By the end of 2016, WhatsApp will no longer work on most BlackBerry devices, even those loaded with the company’s latest mobile platform. In the blog post the WhatsApp team published today, they reminisced about their launch back in 2009, when most smartphones were either a BlackBerry or a Nokia. It was a different time, and the Facebook-owned app’s developers have to cut them off, because the platforms “don’t offer the kind of capabilities [they] need to expand [their] app’s features in the future.”

Besides dropping support for BB’s OS, the app will also stop working on Nokia S40 and Symbian S60, Android 2.1 and 2.2, as well as Windows Phone 7.1 devices by the end of the year. That said, you don’t have to abandon BlackBerry completely if you’re a loyal BB and WhatsApp user. Don’t forget that the Canadian company released an Android phone called the Priv in 2015, and it plans to release at least one more device running Google’s OS.

This is a very sad news for my pals, how will chat you guys again? It’s something that just shot my aorta, although I’d upgraded to iOS 9 Beta and Android 6. But I’d still want to keep my fam.

By the end of 2016, WhatsApp will no longer work on most BlackBerry devices, even those loaded with the company’s latest mobile platform. In the blog post the WhatsApp team published today, they reminisced about their launch back in 2009, when most smartphones were either a BlackBerry or a Nokia. It was a different time, and the Facebook-owned app’s developers have to cut them off, because the platforms “don’t offer the kind of capabilities [they] need to expand [their] app’s features in the future.”

Besides dropping support for BB’s OS, the app will also stop working on Nokia S40 and Symbian S60, Android 2.1 and 2.2, as well as Windows Phone 7.1 devices by the end of the year. That said, you don’t have to abandon BlackBerry completely if you’re a loyal BB and WhatsApp user. Don’t forget that the Canadian company released an Android phone called the Priv in 2015, and it plans to release at least one more device running Google’s OS.

The Cross River Executive Council has approved the sum of 100 million Naira for the licensing of the state owned financial institution incorporated as Cross River State Micro Finance Bank Limited by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The state government says this is to complement its bid to turn the state into an industrial sector and energize the formal sector of the economy.

The government’s chief spokesperson and Information Commissioner, Rosemary Archibong disclosed this to newsmen Thursday, in Calabar shortly after an emergency exco meeting presided upon by Deputy Governor, Ivara Esu.

During the briefing, she maintained that the establishment of the Special Purpose Vehicle is in line with the vision and policy of the Ben Ayade led administration to pursue economic growth in the state aimed at “making life more meaningful.”

“After due deliberation and consideration, the council today approved the release of the sum of 100 million Naira being the CBN’s requirement for licensing of the Microfinance bank” Archibong said.

She added further, “With this development, our women and youth entrepreneurs who are desirous of establishing their own business can now have unhindered access to funds at a competitive rate even at the remotest part of the state to better their lots.”

The Commerce and Industry Commissioner, Peter Egba on his part said the decision to establish a microfinance bank will create easy access for Cross Riverians to, loan facilities to grow and encourage micro businesses to thrive in the state as its branches will spread across the state while the headquarters will be sited in Calabar.

“When the small and micro businesses thrive, the informal sector thrives, the spin-off will be huge employment opportunities that will absorb greater number of our population” Egba said.

He explained that the N100 million licensing fee to CBN was refundable as the apex bank will refund the money as soon as registration and licensing formalities are concluded and disclosed that the Bank has already been registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission, adding that once the license is secured operation will commence immediately.

The Cross River Executive Council has approved the sum of 100 million Naira for the licensing of the state owned financial institution incorporated as Cross River State Micro Finance Bank Limited by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The state government says this is to complement its bid to turn the state into an industrial sector and energize the formal sector of the economy.

The government’s chief spokesperson and Information Commissioner, Rosemary Archibong disclosed this to newsmen Thursday, in Calabar shortly after an emergency exco meeting presided upon by Deputy Governor, Ivara Esu.

During the briefing, she maintained that the establishment of the Special Purpose Vehicle is in line with the vision and policy of the Ben Ayade led administration to pursue economic growth in the state aimed at “making life more meaningful.”

“After due deliberation and consideration, the council today approved the release of the sum of 100 million Naira being the CBN’s requirement for licensing of the Microfinance bank” Archibong said.

She added further, “With this development, our women and youth entrepreneurs who are desirous of establishing their own business can now have unhindered access to funds at a competitive rate even at the remotest part of the state to better their lots.”

The Commerce and Industry Commissioner, Peter Egba on his part said the decision to establish a microfinance bank will create easy access for Cross Riverians to, loan facilities to grow and encourage micro businesses to thrive in the state as its branches will spread across the state while the headquarters will be sited in Calabar.

“When the small and micro businesses thrive, the informal sector thrives, the spin-off will be huge employment opportunities that will absorb greater number of our population” Egba said.

He explained that the N100 million licensing fee to CBN was refundable as the apex bank will refund the money as soon as registration and licensing formalities are concluded and disclosed that the Bank has already been registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission, adding that once the license is secured operation will commence immediately.

Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has asked the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to restrain the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from allowing market forces to determine the exchange rate of the naira.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also asked the court to direct the CBN to stop the use of the United States dollar as a legal tender in Nigeria.

The suit was filed on Wednesday, 24 February 2016 and is yet to be assigned to a judge for hearing.

In the suit, Mr Falana, alleged that the CBN’s monetary policy had led to a situation where too much naira was made to chase a few dollars with an attendant weaker naira and adverse multiplier effects such as rising inflation, closure of factories and high level of unemployment.

He also alleged that the CBN had so “dollarised the economy” that the foreign currency had now become legal tender with school fees and rents now being charged and paid in dollars to the detriment of the economy.

The Senior Advocate wants the court to make a declaration that by virtue of Section 16 of the CBN Act 2007, the CBN shall fix and determine the exchange rate of the naira by a suitable mechanism devised for that purpose.

Culled from Channelstv

Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has asked the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to restrain the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from allowing market forces to determine the exchange rate of the naira.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also asked the court to direct the CBN to stop the use of the United States dollar as a legal tender in Nigeria.

The suit was filed on Wednesday, 24 February 2016 and is yet to be assigned to a judge for hearing.

In the suit, Mr Falana, alleged that the CBN’s monetary policy had led to a situation where too much naira was made to chase a few dollars with an attendant weaker naira and adverse multiplier effects such as rising inflation, closure of factories and high level of unemployment.

He also alleged that the CBN had so “dollarised the economy” that the foreign currency had now become legal tender with school fees and rents now being charged and paid in dollars to the detriment of the economy.

The Senior Advocate wants the court to make a declaration that by virtue of Section 16 of the CBN Act 2007, the CBN shall fix and determine the exchange rate of the naira by a suitable mechanism devised for that purpose.

Culled from Channelstv

Nigeria’s leading retail and most valuable bank brand, FirstBank has been officially recognized as the first financial institution in the country to achieve a transaction volume of 100 million transactions in a month, by Interswitch Transnational, Africa’s leading integrated payment and transaction processing company.

This milestone feat was achieved in the month of December 2015 and represents the total transactions processed by FirstBank’s Front End Processor running on the Interswitch transaction switching platform which seamlessly links all financial institutions in Nigeria to facilitate better and quicker transactions across all platforms.

As Nigeria’s leading financial institution with over 10 million customers, this achievement by FirstBank clearly aligns with its strategic intent to promote financial inclusion, support the cashless policy drive of the Central Bank of Nigeria and boost economic growth via e-payments across Nigeria and the African continent.

According to the Bank’s Group Head, e-business, Chuma Ezirim, FirstBank remains committed to lead the drive to move the Nigerian economy away from traditional cash and other generic payment means to modern technological varieties in e-Payment.

Reacting to the development, Divisional CEO, Switching and Processing, Interswitch, Akeem Lawal commented, “It really says something about the strength and development of electronic transactions in Nigeria that a single banking partner can record 100 million transactions in a single month.

“When you add this figure to that of our other partners, then you can begin to have an idea of the sheer size and demand for electronic financial services in Nigeria.”

Also speaking, the GMD/CEO of FirstBank, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan noted that the bank will continue to employ novel approaches in providing secure and convenient banking services for our customers and promised that the bank will continue to innovate and extend its leadership of the financial sector services with specialized and technology-driven products and services.

“FirstBank’s investment in e-business reflects our commitment to promoting financial inclusion which is widely regarded as a lever for sustainable economic growth and development as well as enhancing entrepreneurship.
“Our passion to serve and extend financial services to the unbanked has since inspired several innovations and we thank our esteemed customers for their continued patronage and trust in our services whilst dedicating the recognition to them”, he stated.

It will be recalled that FirstBank in 2012 also received a Milestone Achievement Award as the first bank to hit a 5 million mark of Verve card issuance to its customers.

[Daily Post]

Nigeria’s leading retail and most valuable bank brand, FirstBank has been officially recognized as the first financial institution in the country to achieve a transaction volume of 100 million transactions in a month, by Interswitch Transnational, Africa’s leading integrated payment and transaction processing company.

This milestone feat was achieved in the month of December 2015 and represents the total transactions processed by FirstBank’s Front End Processor running on the Interswitch transaction switching platform which seamlessly links all financial institutions in Nigeria to facilitate better and quicker transactions across all platforms.

As Nigeria’s leading financial institution with over 10 million customers, this achievement by FirstBank clearly aligns with its strategic intent to promote financial inclusion, support the cashless policy drive of the Central Bank of Nigeria and boost economic growth via e-payments across Nigeria and the African continent.

According to the Bank’s Group Head, e-business, Chuma Ezirim, FirstBank remains committed to lead the drive to move the Nigerian economy away from traditional cash and other generic payment means to modern technological varieties in e-Payment.

Reacting to the development, Divisional CEO, Switching and Processing, Interswitch, Akeem Lawal commented, “It really says something about the strength and development of electronic transactions in Nigeria that a single banking partner can record 100 million transactions in a single month.

“When you add this figure to that of our other partners, then you can begin to have an idea of the sheer size and demand for electronic financial services in Nigeria.”

Also speaking, the GMD/CEO of FirstBank, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan noted that the bank will continue to employ novel approaches in providing secure and convenient banking services for our customers and promised that the bank will continue to innovate and extend its leadership of the financial sector services with specialized and technology-driven products and services.

“FirstBank’s investment in e-business reflects our commitment to promoting financial inclusion which is widely regarded as a lever for sustainable economic growth and development as well as enhancing entrepreneurship.
“Our passion to serve and extend financial services to the unbanked has since inspired several innovations and we thank our esteemed customers for their continued patronage and trust in our services whilst dedicating the recognition to them”, he stated.

It will be recalled that FirstBank in 2012 also received a Milestone Achievement Award as the first bank to hit a 5 million mark of Verve card issuance to its customers.

[Daily Post]