Ilebaye Odiniya’s recent victory in the Big Brother Naija All Stars edition, where she secured prize money of N120 million, has sparked discussions on social media about ideal savings rates and investment options.
Fintech companies, including Fairmoney and Piggyvest, have seized this opportunity to entice Ilebaye with attractive interest rates, aiming to have her save a significant portion of her prize money with them.
These savings and investment platforms have offered her interest rates ranging from 12% to 24%.
How it all started?
Piggyvest initiated the pitch, encouraging Ilebaye with its high-yield savings account called ‘PiggyFlex,’ which offers a 12.517% interest rate for a 366-day maturity period. This translates to N7.51 million on N60 million.
Following Piggyvest, other platforms like FairMoney MFB joined the conversation, presenting even higher interest rates.
FairMoney, a digital microfinance bank, offered 23% interest on N60 million for a 365-day duration, resulting in N72.420 million at maturity after a 10% withholding tax withdrawal.
Newsmen gathered that FairMoney’s loan amounts range from N1,500 to N3 million, with repayment periods ranging from 61 days to 18 months and monthly interest rates from 2.5% to 30%.
Other fintech platform joins the pitch
Credpal, another fintech platform, also expressed its trust in Ilebaye’s decision-making. They proposed a 24% interest rate, implying that Ilebaye would receive N72.960 million after investing N60 million with them for 360 days.
Reacting to the development, Adesina Olumide, an analyst at Quantum Economics, cautioned that the Federal Government of Nigeria’s bond market yields for various tenors are currently between 13% and 15%.
He emphasized that any guaranteed return exceeding these rates should undergo close regulatory scrutiny.
Also, Ezra Olubi, co-founder of PayStack, highlighted that no institution can offer interest rates higher than the prevailing bond rates in the country. He further stressed the importance of educating investors about the associated risks when offering above-average rates to a mass market audience.
