FG names five approved senders for N50,000 monthly cash support, warns against fraud

The Federal Government has warned Nigerians receiving the N50,000 monthly cash support to verify text messages before responding, as fraudsters try to exploit the programme. It said genuine notifications will come only from five approved payment providers.

The approved senders are ALAT by Wema Bank, MoMo PSB, NairaGram, OPay and Moniepoint. Beneficiaries should check the sender’s name before replying to any message claiming to offer access to the support.

How to spot a genuine message

The government outlined three checks. First, the message must come from ALAT, MoMo PSB, NairaGram, OPay or Moniepoint. Second, genuine messages will only ask recipients to reply YES or dial the designated USSD code provided by their payment service. Third, no legitimate message will ask for money, a PIN, an OTP or require recipients to click a link.

If a message fails any of these checks, recipients should not respond. They should contact their payment provider’s official help line to confirm its authenticity.

No fee, no registration, no office visit

The government stressed that the cash support programme is completely free. Beneficiaries do not need to pay anyone to receive their money. They also do not need to register, pay a fee or visit any government office to be selected.

It warned against sharing personal banking details, including PINs, one-time passwords and account passwords, even with individuals claiming to be government officials or payment agents. Beneficiaries were also told not to share their BVN, click suspicious links or pay anyone to access the free support.

How beneficiaries are selected

The programme is called the National Economic Recovery and Support Initiative (NERSI). According to the guidelines, the government draws its list of beneficiaries from the National Social Register and verified national identity records. Phone numbers linked to those records are used to send SMS notifications to successful individuals. There is no separate application.

Payment notifications have begun reaching beneficiaries. Moniepoint has also clarified how the government obtains the phone numbers of Nigerians chosen for the N50,000 monthly cash support.

What it means for beneficiaries

The warning puts the focus on safe use of mobile money and bank alerts as more Nigerians receive the monthly support. A single PIN or OTP shared with a fraudster can empty an account. Beneficiaries should treat any message that asks for payment, links or banking details as suspicious and confirm with their provider before acting.