Financial Inclusion: Agents Handle $490m Monthly – First Bank
BY CHINYERE OBIORA, LAGOS – First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) says over $490 million (about N176.65 billion) worth of transactions are being processed monthly by its money agents as part of efforts to deepen financial inclusion in the country.
According to the bank, the impressive performance is occasioned by sustained growth of its network of mobile money operators that currently stands at over 22,000.
Deputy Managing Director of the Bank, Mr Gbenga Shobo, reeled out the figures during a panel discussion on “Mobile money services for a better financial inclusion in West Africa.”
The event was the Future of Finance West Africa Conference, organised by the Asian Banker, a leading Asian consultancy firm specialising in financial services research, bench-marking and intelligence.
Shobo stated that the FBN applied and got mobile money license in 2012 in a move aimed at promoting and supporting the Federal Government’s objectives to deepen financial inclusion nationwide.
He said it was encouraging that the Bank’s Firstmonie wallet platform had over four million customers with a spread of agents’ network that would hit the 50,000 mark by 2019 ending.
Shobo said; “Firstmonie has had a transformational impact on reaching low-income and historically unbanked households in Nigeria.
“It is integrating them into the wider financial system by providing access to a range of banking services including account opening, fund transfer capabilities, Identity management (BVN) and savings.
“After a successful roll out of the Firstmonie Agent network 2018, the business has grown to a network of over 22,000 agents processing over $490 million worth of transaction in monthly value and a unique transaction count of 10 million monthly.”
The FBN Deputy Managing Director said the bank would continue to maintain its wide spread presence across all the 774 local government areas in the country, adding that the processes are daily upgraded with deployment of modern technology; investments in recruitment and training to ensure more Nigerians were reached, especially at the grassroots level.
In her remarks at the forum, a Consultant to the International Finance Corporation (IFC/World Bank), Mrs Chidinma Lawanson, noted that impressive growth recorded in Africa’s financial inclusion is being driven by mobile money and agents’ banking.
Mrs Lawanson, who said mobile money users in Nigeria increased from 1.6 per cent in 2016 to 3.3 per cent in 2018, however admitted that a lot more needs to be done as the adoption of mobile money in the country was still modest.
She also said that for Nigeria to achieve the set target of 20 per cent financial exclusion adult population by 2020, efforts should be focused on ensuring more women enjoy financial inclusiveness in the banking system
For the National President, Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN), Mr Victor Olojo, among factors that can continuously drive financial inclusion are: consumer protection; access, affordability, convenience and right technology.
Oloyo further maintained that financial inclusion would positively impact on many lives, especially the rural poor; lift them out of poverty, even as it also drives the country’s economic development and growth on a sustainable basis.
