Business News
SEC threatens to suspend outdated accounts, to address unclaimed dividends
Bisi Fayemi, First Lady of Ekiti state has called on the Federal Government to ban imported Aso-Oke fabrics saying it would boost economic growth.
The acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mary Uduk, has disclosed that outdated accounts would be suspended as SEC makes effort to settle unclaimed dividends in the capital market.
Ban on outdated accounts: Uduk said new initiatives would be implemented to curb unclaimed dividends in 2020. She also said that to resolve all issues and ensure shareholders update their information, capital market operators would be afforded a period of time to comply. The update is necessary as transaction will not occur on any account without updated information.
“Right now, you will not get unclaimed dividends from new issues. Part of the problem of unclaimed dividend has to do with identity management. We are doing all we can to educate the public on this issue and engaging various stakeholders to be able to get a lot of the information that we require.
She said, “Items like the Bank Verification Number have been added to help in identity management; the capital market is also taking advantage of it. The Central Securities Clearing System and the registrars are working together to ensure that more information from the legacy shareholders are being collected to be able to update their information and get them to claim their dividends.
“The registrars do not have direct interface with shareholders, they deal directly with stockbrokers; but there is a committee comprising the SEC, registrars, stockbrokers, issuing houses, the CSCS and the Nigerian Stock Exchange, working on that in addition to the e-dividend management committee.”
[READ MORE: Capital market experiences significant drop of unclaimed dividends)
What you need to know: Uduk said the information update was a legacy issue. According to her, many Nigerians bought shares in the capital market in 2008 before the introduction of Bank Verification Number (BVN). It was disclosed that some of the investors agreed to update their information after initially not providing their account numbers. The updated information was expected to be transmitted to the CSCS, which would update the information and send them to the registrars.
At the last, Capital Market Committee meeting, it was agreed that stockbrokers would update the information of their clients. This, she said would address unclaimed dividends.
“We believe that by the time we commence that, it will address that issue of unclaimed dividend.
“Before you can complete the application, the system will validate your account number; it will not accept incomplete application.
“We believe that in addition to the e-dividend mandate, these other initiatives that the commission is doing with other stakeholders will address the issue of unclaimed dividends,” she said in a Punch report.
Corporate deals
DEAL: Nigeria’s Cowrywise raises $3m pre-series A funding
Nigerian fintech startup, Cowrywise has raised $3m in pre-series A funding.
Nigerian fintech startup Cowrywise has raised $3m pre-series A funding.
This funding round was led by Washington DC-based Quona Capital, with participation from Sahil Lavingia, Tsadik Foundation, and a syndicate of local and diaspora based Nigerian angels.
Founded by Razaq Ahmed and Edward Popoola in 2017, Cowrywise gives Nigerian’s access to a range of goal-oriented savings and investment products.
The Quona led investment brings Cowrywise’s total funding amount to $3.3 million since its 2017 launch.
The company first introduced savings on its platform, followed by mutual funds and they currently have 19 different mutual funds and at least 20% of the total mutual funds in the country are listed on its platform.
According to Ahmed, while Nigerian’s millennials may have high digital connection levels, they lack access to high-quality savings and investment products. Which is what Cowrywise is offering.
The startup has more than 220,000 users currently. According to the Techcrunch, there are only half a million Nigerians actively investing in mutual funds. When compared to the total number of active bank accounts in the country of more than 40 million, it is obvious Cowrywise still has room to grow in the $3 billion markets.
This new funding will be used to increase its customer base and also expand its product offerings, support more fund managers in Nigeria, and build its investment management structure.
What you should know
- Cowrywise, an app that helps you easily plan, save, and invest online with the strongest interest rates and investment returns is the first Nigerian startup to be backed by Quona Capital.
- In June 2018, Cowrywise closed an Angel round of $50,000 led by Microtraction. In August 2018, it raised a $120,000 seed round from Y Combinator and another seed round from Kairos by December of the same year.
- It received undisclosed funding from K-50 Ventures in April 2019, before receiving an $80,000 grant from UK-DFID backed accelerator, Catalyst Fund. A first for a Nigerian startup.
- In February 2020, Quona Capital led the $14 million series A round for Kenyan eCommerce Startup, Sokowatch.
- The company has also significantly invested in South African startups like Lulalend, Yoco, ZOONA, and ALLLIFE.
Tech News
Whatsapp to require biometric authentication for PC and web access
WhatsApp is adding a new biometric feature to confirm users’ identity when linking accounts to PC or the web.
WhatsApp is adding a new biometric feature to confirm your identity when you want to link your WhatsApp account to a PC or the web.
The social media app is rolling out this new feature for its web and desktop apps, which will let people create an additional authentication layer using biometrics when they want to use WhatsApp on desktop or web.
Users will now have the option (not a requirement) to add in a biometric login, which uses either a fingerprint, face ID, or iris ID — depending on the device — on Android or iPhone, to add in the second layer of authentication.
When implemented, it will appear for users before a desktop or web version can be linked up with a mobile app account.
WhatsApp told TechCrunch that it is going to be adding in more features this year to bring the functionality of the two closer together. There are still big gaps: for example, you can’t make calls on the WhatsApp web version.
To be clear, the biometric service, which is being turned on globally, will be opt-in: users will need to go to their settings to turn on the feature, in the same way, that today they need to go into their settings to turn on biometric authentication for their mobile apps.
WhatsApp has added that it will not be able to access the biometric information that you will store in your device and that it is using the same standard biometric authentication APIs that other secure apps, like banking apps, use.
This new feature will work alongside another, which sends your phone notifications whenever somebody logs into your account on the web or a computer.
What you should know
- The company has been getting a lot of backlashes since it announced it will now share its users’ personal information, including phone numbers, IP addresses, contacts, and more with Facebook from February 8, 2021.
- WhatsApp’s new privacy policy forced many users to quit the app and to seek alternatives in Signal and Telegram
Economy & Politics
Nigeria, now 2nd most corrupt country in West Africa – Transparency International
Nigeria is now the second most corrupt country in W/Africa with Guinea-Bissau the only country more corrupt than Nigeria in the region.
Stanley
December 30, 2019 at 12:24 am
I don’t see any need for an investor who is buying shares in this age to be burdened with the process of completing the e-dividend mandate form separately, taking it to the bank for signature verification etc, and submitting at the registrars’. It’s a lot of burden on some investors who don’t have the time. Rather, the stockbrokers should process these as a standard for a fee, on behalf of their clients (investors) since they already have their current account details and bvn.