Business
RUFIN Distributes Computers To Micro Finance Banks
The Rural Finance Institution Building Programme (RUFIN) in Abuja distributed computers and accessories to 33 participating Micro Finance Banks (MFBs) registered under the programme.
RUFIN is being financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a Rome-based UN agency. Dr Ben Odoemena, the IFAD Country Programme Officer, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen at the 2011 Financial Linkage Forum for stakeholders organised by RUFIN in Abuja on Monday. Odoemena said that the equipment were provided to enable the financial institutions to do their jobs effectively and enhance farmers’ productivity. He said the gesture was one of the RUFINs strategies to meet its objective of developing and strengthening the capacities of MFBs and other non-bank micro finance institutions.
According to him, the equipment would also enhance the access of the rural poor to sustainable financial services and enable RUFIN to achieve its goal of being a “one-stop” location for information and knowledge on issues relating to micro finance in Nigeria.
It would also facilitate a robust cash management system that would ensure liquidity of agents, the country programme officer further said. He said that RUFIN had also facilitated the formation of apex organisations for both Micro Finance Banks (MFBs) and Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) in the country, to promote the sustainability of the programme.
He firther noted that RUFIN, in conjunction with the CBN, had developed a curriculum on capacity building for MFBs in the country, to ensure that products from licenced operators were made available to the CBN.
He commended RUFIN for the various activities it had executed since inception in 2010, adding that it had exceeded the set target.
Cornerstone of Financial Services
A survey of more than 1 000 global finance leaders undertaken by digital payment network Ripple shows that 72% of respondents believe they need to offer a digital asset solution to remain competitive.
According to Ripple, leaders from the banking, fintech, corporate and asset management sector have made it clear that the “digital asset revolution is happening now”.
“Digital assets are quickly becoming a cornerstone of financial services, underpinned by progressive regulation, growing interest from Tier-1 banks, a steady consumer shift from banks to fintech providers, and booming stablecoin adoption,” Ripple says.
The survey was conducted in early 2026 and the findings released in March.
Stablecoin Boon or Bane?
Ripple has experienced significant success in the stablecoin sector since launching its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in 2024.
With a market cap of $1.56 billion, it is considered a major regulated player in the market.
No doubt the platform was pleased to learn through its own survey that financial leaders were most bullish about stablecoins.
Roughly three-quarters of respondents believed they could boost cash-flow efficiency and unlock trapped working capital.
Ripple noted that finance leaders were thinking about stablecoins as more than “just a new way to execute payments”; instead, they viewed them as effective tools for treasury management.
In March 2026, Ripple began testing a new trade finance model built around RLUSD in a bid to increase the speed of cross-border payments.
The pilot initiative, developed alongside supply chain finance company Unloq [https://unloq.com], is running on the XRP Ledger inside a testing framework developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Asian city-state is one of the platform’s biggest growth markets.
The idea behind the project is to see whether stablecoin-based settlement can streamline trade finance, too often hampered by reliance on intermediaries and slow reconciliation.
The only potential drawback is that if the initiative takes off, the Ripple to USD price could be negatively affected.
Ripple has always championed its native XRP token as a bridge asset, the “middleman” in the process of a financial institution turning dollars in the US into pounds in the UK, for example.
Ripple converts dollars into XRP and then back into pounds.
If RLUSD can do exactly the same thing, questions will be asked about XRP’s relevance.
That is a bridge Ripple will have to cross if it gets to that point.
Tokenisation Partners
Another interesting finding from Ripple’s survey is that most banks and asset managers are seeking tokenisation partners to help execute their strategies.
Some 89% of respondents said digital asset storage and custody were top priority. “Token servicing/lifecycle management also ranks highly for banks at 82%, while asset managers place greater emphasis on primary distribution at 80%,” Ripple found.
The survey also revealed that just more than half of fintechs and financial institutions want an infrastructure provider that can offer a “one-stop-shop solution”. This rose to 71% among corporate financial leaders.
Ripple attributes this to institutions and firms wanting uncomplicated, cohesive systems.
Infrastructure Rules
In its final analysis, Ripple says companies across the board are looking for partners and solutions that are “secure, compliant, battle-tested and that enable growth and execution”.
“The message is clear: infrastructure decisions made today will shape competitive positioning tomorrow.”
No surprise that this is precisely where Ripple is placing much of its focus.
