An industry-wide survey administered by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in conjunction with NIBBS which culminated in rewarding institutions during Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) Annual Dinner and Awards has voted Skye Bank“The Most Committed Watch Listing Bank in Nigeria” out of four corporate awards that were up for grabs.
Business Hilights recalls that NeFF is a forum where financial services stakeholders – banks and other organisations within the financial and payment systems meet on a quarterly basis to deliberate on issues of electronic fraud and its prevention.
The honours is in recognition of efforts of the banking industry in the fight against electronic fraud is presented to the institution “with the most efficient and robust system for tracking all forms of electronic fraud and arresting perpetrators for prosecution.”
Analysts say the challenge of securing the Nigerian Payments System will always be a daunting task, as with the ease of payment comes greater adoption, and with increased adoption, the lure of cybercriminals, who seek to convert either digital asset or resources or both to their own, becomes even greater.
In his remarks during the event, the NeFF Chairman and Director, Banking and Payment System at CBN, Dipo Fatokun noted that “an effective fight against fraud is not without robust awareness programme; not only for members of the public, but also for staff of organisations that operate within the Payment Space”.
The apex bank chief argued harped on the importance of starting the awareness programme in 2017, “as this would help the industry reduce cost of fraud through increased vigilance and detection abilities”.
Commenting on the Skye Bank honours and the process leading to the awards, Fatokun said “the Central Bank of Nigeria in collaboration with NIBBS carried out a survey to rate the performance of all banks in the fight against electronic fraud. According to him, most banks, in their response, acknowledged Skye Bank as the most committed bank when it comes to tracking fraud and arresting perpetrators.”
Findings show that Skye Bank runs its core banking ICT applications on one of the most advanced, and highly secured and scalable technology software, adjudged by cyber practitioners as consistent with the practice by other financial giants in most advanced economies of the world.
The Executive Director, Lagos Commercial Banking Directorate, Mrs. Markie Idowu who received the award on behalf of the financial giant expressed gratitude to the organizers, saying the honours will spur the bank to drive more effectively in tackling the spate of electronic fraud in the industry.
Analysts say Skye Bank, a Systematically Important Bank (SIB), with strong market share and relative interconnectedness, occupies a sensitive role in the financial industry in Nigeria and West Africa.
Other awards given out during the dinner include the best fraud desk personality of the year; the most responsive fraud desk and the overall best fraud desk.
The event has been an annual platform to reward banks that have done creditably well in joining the apex bank to fight e-fraud.
