Tech News
Facebook deletes multiple accounts in Nigeria, others
Facebook has disclosed that it had deleted hundreds of pages, groups and accounts on its platforms for “coordinated inauthentic behaviour”.
Facebook Inc has disclosed that it had deleted hundreds of pages, groups and accounts on its platforms for “coordinated inauthentic behaviour” linked to three operations in Nigeria, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt.
Facebook revealed that it tracked three marketing firms in Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt, involved fake accounts, which spread content on topics like UAE’s activity in Yemen and the Iran nuclear deal.
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According to the social media platform, an operation in Indonesia involved a network of over 100 fake accounts on Facebook and Instagram posting content in English and Indonesian either in support or criticizing the West Papua independence movement which is active in the country’s restive easternmost region of Papua.
Global Lead for Threat Disruption, Facebook, David Agranovich, said, “This was a network of pages designed to appear like local media organizations and advocacy organizations.”
Mark Zuckerberg Facebook founder and CEO.
He explained that his team, which had been monitoring Indonesia in light of increasing tensions in Papua, had tracked the false accounts, which would disseminate content, buy ads, and drive people to other sites, to an Indonesian media firm called InsightID.
There has been an increase in protests and unrest in Papua since late August, which suffered some of its worst bloodsheds in decades in September, with 33 people killed and scores injured.
Researchers had independently warned in September that there had been a rise of fake Twitter and Facebook accounts on Papua, with some of the fake accounts posting pro-government content.
Agranovich said Facebook also removed fake accounts related to two other unconnected networks in the Middle East and Africa.
One, according to Facebook, was based out of Egypt but targeted the rest of the region by posting content in support of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, as well as criticism of Qatar, Iran, Turkey and Yemen’s separatist movement.
The executive said this operation used fake accounts “to masquerade as local media organizations in a variety of those countries … and amplify the content they were posting.”
According to Agranovich, Facebook found evidence some of the pages had been purchased, with regular changing ownerships, as well as deep links to Egyptian newspaper El Fagr, “which is known for its sensationalistic content.”
As a result of the investigation, Facebook has also removed El Fagr’s official media pages from its platforms, he said.
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The social media giant has recently been cracking down on such accounts after coming under fire in the last few years for its self-admitted sluggishness in developing tools to combat extremist content and propaganda operations.
Earlier this year, it removed accounts from Iraq, Ukraine, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Thailand, Honduras and Israel.
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Business News
Top digital banking apps in Nigeria
These digital banking apps have offered a more convenient full-banking experience to their users.
Traditional banks have been facing stiff competition from fast-rising digital banks. These digital banks emerged with higher consumer demand and have offered a more convenient full-banking experience to their users including higher interest rates on savings thereby attracting more people to adopt their services.
This has caused some traditional banks like Wema Bank and Sterling Bank to adopt this trend and also develop their own digital banking platforms.
Here is a list of the top digital banking apps in Nigeria.
Vbank
VFD Microfinance Bank is a fully digital bank that offers a wide range of financial products and services to professionals and entrepreneurs across all sectors. The digital bank has over 100,000 downloads on Playstore. They offer zero charges on transactions. Free account maintenance, monthly interest on savings, swift and secure transfers, withdrawals, and bill payments.
Pros
- Instant account opening without any paperwork.
- Fingerprint authorization: Login with your fingerprint and authorize transactions using your 4-digit PIN.
- Good customer service.
- Set up and track your spend budgets.
- Order debit cards from the apps.
- USSD banking service available.
- Easy bill payments on the app.
- Target savings with 8% interest rate.
User complaints
- New update causes app to crash.
- Upgrading KYC takes relatively longer.
Kuda bank
Kuda Bank is a free, digital-only bank with a microfinance banking license from the Central Bank of Nigeria. The bank includes tools for tracking your spending habits, saving more, and making the right money moves. They don’t charge card maintenance or account maintenance fees. Kuda has 1M+ downloads on Playstore. Its customers get 25 free transfers to other banks every month.
Pros
- Free debit cards.
- Good user experience.
- Free withdrawals at over 3,000 ATMs across Nigeria.
- 15% annual interest rates on savings.
- No paperwork involved when signing up.
- Automatic budgeting tools for easier money management.
User complaints
- Cards often take a long time to arrive.
- No SMS notification when you get credited.
- No USSD code option for transactions.
- Identity verification takes time.
AlatbyWema
ALAT is Nigeria’s first fully digital bank, designed to help you do more with your money. Alat is owned by Wema bank. Just like every other digital bank, there is no need to visit a bank to open an account. Alat has over 500,000 downloads on Playstore.
Pros
- Free bank card delivery anywhere in Nigeria.
- A Virtual Dollar Card for online payments.
- Bill payments option.
- Collateral-free loans are available.
- Save easily with automated goal saving.
User complaints
- The virtual card does not yet work.
- Delay in physical card delivery.
Sparkle
Sparkle is a lifestyle and finance app. It is a digital ecosystem providing financial, lifestyle, and business support services to Nigerians around the world. Licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sparkle is all about helping people achieve what they want, whether it’s entertainment, education, saving, or investing in the future. Sparkle has over 100,000+ downloads on the play store.
Pros
- Create an account with just your Bank Verification Number (BVN), email address and phone number.
- If you ever lose or misplace your card, you can freeze and unfreeze it in the Sparkle app.
- Save using Sparkle Stash for different goals at the same time.
- Percentage savings where you determine what percentage of your account balance will be going to your savings every day, week or month!
- Get real-time instant notifications for your transactions.
- Bill payments; Pay your bills whenever you want, wherever you are.
- Split bills with friends and family on the app.
- Physical and virtual cards available.
User complaints
- New update causes the app to crash.
- Reversal on failed transaction takes time.
- Cards can’t be used for international transactions.
- Poor customer service.
Mint App
MyMintApp is a self-service platform developed for customers to carry out a range of digital and mobile banking transactions on their accounts. It offers customers benefits such as convenience, speed, online real-time access, the security of transactions and options to initiate basic service requests without having to physically visit the bank.
MyMintApp also offers different banking services such as SME Banking, Personal Banking, Corporate Banking, Internet Banking (Electronic Banking), Current Account Opening, Savings Account Opening, Business Services, Loans, e-Business Solutions, Personalized Money Tracking and Card Solutions, etc. Mint has over 10,000+ downloads on Playstore.
Pros
- Good customer service.
- Seamless account funding via Paystack or directly from your existing bank account.
- Different saving goals with competitive interest rates to help you save for a targeted purpose.
- Money Manager to help you tag your expenses according to the most common categories, and see real views of how and where you spend monthly.
- Zero transaction fees on bill payments.
User complaints
- No bonus when you refer someone to the app.
- The selfie verification process takes time.
Onebank
Onebank brings a whole new financial and non-financial experience to the digital space. This application comes with sophisticated features and an impeccable user experience. It is highly secure, convenient, and easy to use. Onebank also offers payments, lending, investment, advisory, informational, and lifestyle services which brings that intuitive banking experience on your mobile. Onebank is owned by Sterling Bank
Pros
- Create a wallet account instantly with your mobile number.
- Biometric authentication.
- Instantly create your virtual card for online shopping and decide the card’s usage and expiry.
- Investments; enjoy up to 100% returns on Naira and Dollar investments.
- Quick loans of up to N5 million in 5 minutes.
- Receive money from Onebank user via QR code scan.
- Pay for airline tickets, cable & internet subscription directly on the app.
- Cardless withdrawals are available.
User complaints
- Prone to error when you try to sign in.
- Bad user experience.
- Transaction history only shows debits and not credit transaction.
- Failed transactions take time to be reversed.
- Difficulty when you try to switch devices.
Rubies
Rubies is a digital bank that disrupts regular banking by providing 100% digital top-notch services and technology at its peak. With Rubies, you can decide what your account number looks like. Rubies give you the financial freedom to do more than just banking and the app has garnered over 100,000 downloads on Playstore.
Pros
- No maintenance fees.
- Free Debit Cards: Also comes with an option of free delivery.
- Independent Banker: Refer people and earn every time they transact on Rubies.
- Customizable Account: Decide what your Account Number looks like.
- Proximity Transfer: Transfer money easily to friends on Rubies around you with a single tap.
- Open Account: Get an account on the fly, from anywhere (App, Website).
- Request Money: Request funds from friends on Rubies with a single button.
User complaints
- Verification process takes time.
- BVN verification unstable.
- App downtime takes more than 24 hours to resolve.
- Difficulties upgrading account.
Why this matters
With the increasing number of digital banks and fintech startups, the competition for acquiring and retaining new and old customers is getting stiffer. More traditional banks will need to adopt digital banking to stay competitive.
