logo
Nigeria's United Capital Expands Into Francophone West Africa

Nigeria's United Capital Expands Into Francophone West Africa

Bloomberg14-06-2025

United Capital Plc launched an investment management business from Côte d'Ivoire to operate in eight countries across French-speaking West Africa, according to a statement to the Nigerian stock exchange.
The Lagos-based financial services group's new subsidiary will have its official headquarters in Abidjan and will serve the member states of the West African Economic & Monetary Union, which are Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. The unit will offer portfolio management, mutual funds and financial advisory services.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

JPMorgan, Amex flash new cards
JPMorgan, Amex flash new cards

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

JPMorgan, Amex flash new cards

This story was originally published on Payments Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Payments Dive newsletter. American Express and JPMorgan Chase are ramping up their competition for upscale cardholders. JPMorgan fired the opening salvo when it teased a refresh of its Sapphire Reserve credit card last week on its Instagram page. Amex then touted major changes coming later this year to its Platinum cards via a Monday press release. On Tuesday, as JPMorgan unveiled hundreds of dollars worth of new perks and pricing for its premium Sapphire Reserve card, the bank said it would hike annual fees for the card by 45% to $795. The Amex Platinum card currently has an annual fee of $695. The American Express Platinum card and the Sapphire Reserve card are both geared to higher-income consumers. Both charge hefty annual fees, but provide perks like dining and travel credits or priority reservations at exclusive restaurants. Amex dominated the premium card network until Chase launched the Sapphire Reserve card in 2016. The American Express card refresh was likely in the works for months before the card network's Monday news release, TD Cowen analyst Moshe Orenbuch said in an interview. But the timing of the company's initial announcement, just days after JPMorgan's Instagram post, was likely not a coincidence, Orenbuch said. "There's a definite competitive dynamic going on there," Orenbuch said. Amex's news release amounted to an announcement for an announcement planned later this year, giving very little new information and saying more details would come. 'I would say that maybe they rushed that announcement,' Orenbuch suggested. Although he stressed that Amex does not appear to be rushing the refresh itself. 'These are not things you can do by flipping a switch,' he said. An American Express spokesperson declined to comment on the timing of its release or say precisely when the card network will provide more information on the refresh. Amex and JPMorgan aren't just competing with each other when they update their premium cards, said Tony DeSanctis, senior director of payments for the consulting firm Cornerstone Advisors. 'They're also thinking about buy now, pay later,' he said in an interview. American Express has openly courted members of Gen Z, who are increasingly using BNPL, he noted, and the perks on premium cards must appeal to members of that demographic who are looking for alternatives to credit cards. JPMorgan's Instagram marketing post was light on details until the company sent out a news release announcing the new fees and perks on Tuesday. The list of new perks for the Sapphire Reserve card include a $500 annual credit at certain hotels and resorts and a $300 credit at restaurants that are part of the Sapphire Reserve's dining program. It remains to be seen what new perks Amex will offer cardholders, but the company said the forthcoming changes would represent its largest ever investment in a card refresh. That likely means bigger annual fees and more perks, Orenbuch said. 'This is not just about raising the price,' he said. 'You have to provide significantly more value than the increase in price to the consumer.' Recommended Reading Amex, Fiserv cite inflation benefit

Trust in AI is growing in finance, especially behind the scenes
Trust in AI is growing in finance, especially behind the scenes

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Trust in AI is growing in finance, especially behind the scenes

This story was originally published on CX Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CX Dive newsletter. A majority of customers trust the use of AI in behind-the-scenes tasks at financial institutions, according to a TD Bank survey conducted by Ipsos released Tuesday. Among the 2,500 U.S. consumers polled, 70% are comfortable with technology being used for fraud detection, and 64% are comfortable with it being used in credit score calculations. Consumers also believe that AI should offer more ease. Two-thirds believe it can expand access to financial tools, and nearly half expect benefits from AI like 24/7 banking access. As consumers have become more familiar with AI tools, their trust in the technology has slowly grown. Nearly 7 in 10 consumers say they are at least somewhat familiar with AI — a finding seen in other surveys, too. Notably, half of consumers trust that AI will provide reliable, competent information, trusting AI just as much as news stations. But consumers are more comfortable with AI in specific use cases and the more complex or sensitive the matter, the more they want to speak to a human or know that a human will be reviewing AI before making any decisions. Consumers are less inclined to want to only use AI when it comes to tasks that one might typically use a financial adviser for, according Ted Paris, EVP, TD Bank AMCB, and head of analytics, intelligence & AI. When it comes to personal finance, 3 in 5 of consumers were comfortable with the idea of using AI financial tools for budgeting and automating savings goals. But less than half were comfortable with more complex tasks like retirement planning and investing. Banks enjoy high consumer trust — more than 4 in 5 consumers trust banks for accurate information. As they deploy AI, it's important that they maintain that, Paris said. 'What's probably the key piece, is creating and enabling and allowing customers and colleagues to feel that they can trust the outcomes of what this capability then generates,' Paris said. One of the ways TD Bank is approaching this is by always having a human in the loop, meaning that the output of an AI solution will be passed through some internal expert before going to a client. 'We need to make sure that first, anything that we're doing is directed toward a particular need,' Paris said. 'We need to make sure that this is going to meet all hurdles that we would set, legal, regulatory, for security and privacy.' Sign in to access your portfolio

S&P 500-listed CEO Brian Armstrong warns of looming U.S. debt crisis
S&P 500-listed CEO Brian Armstrong warns of looming U.S. debt crisis

Yahoo

time10 hours ago

  • Yahoo

S&P 500-listed CEO Brian Armstrong warns of looming U.S. debt crisis

S&P 500-listed CEO Brian Armstrong warns of looming U.S. debt crisis originally appeared on TheStreet. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, issued a dire warning about the state of the global economy this week, pointing to soaring debt, inflation, and declining economic freedom as the key drivers of rapidly increasing crypto adoption. In a post on X, Armstrong stated, "The world needs crypto, now more than ever," while posting a chart that U.S. federal debt surpassed $34 trillion. Armstrong characterized crypto as a means to regain financial sovereignty, giving individuals the ability to avoid centralized institutions and be able to access fast and cheap global payments. "Economic freedom means it's your money," he shared while referencing the growing demand for Bitcoin and stablecoins as an inflation hedge against out-of-control fiscal policy. His explanation of Coinbase's phased strategy is in three phases. It started as a crypto investment platform, expanded into financial services, and is evolving into an application layer for the next generation of internet tools. He continued explaining the growth of Bitcoin's all-time high and stablecoins, which are adopting more quickly as proof that crypto is "eating the financial services industry." Coinbase made four announcements at its 2025 State of Crypto Summit: Coinbase Business for startups; payment APIs for easy USDC settlements (with Shopify as a proof point), options trading via Deribit integration, and a new Coinbase card with an American Express partnership offering up to 4% Bitcoin rewards. "People are feeling a lack of trust in their money and deficit spending," Armstrong said. "Crypto is the solution—and Coinbase is leading the charge." He added that this movement is not just about price, but about "building a financial system from the ground up." S&P 500-listed CEO Brian Armstrong warns of looming U.S. debt crisis first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 20, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store