First Bank of Nigeria Limited has announced that its Firstmonie agents have collectively processed transaction volume in excess of one billion, amounting to over N22 trillion.
According to a statement by the bank, the agents have been integral to bringing financial services closer to the under-banked and unbanked segment of the society, providing convenient banking services that are easily accessible, thereby saving time and travel costs for individuals in the suburbs and remote environments with no access to financial services.
It said: “Our various empowerment and reward schemes have put our agents at an advantage to economically impact their immediate communities whilst importantly having their business sustained.
“They play a critical role in promoting financial inclusion in the country. Popularly referred to as the ‘Human ATM’, they are empowered to reduce the reliance on over-the-counter transactions while providing convenient personalised services.”
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Expressing his appreciation to the agents, Adesola Adeduntan, chief executive officer at First Bank, said since the relaunch of their agent banking scheme in 2018, the Firstmonie agents had played a vital role in bridging the financial inclusion gap in the country.
According to him, many more people have been able to undertake various financial and business transactions in cost-effective ways, thereby saving a lot of time and money in travelling over long distances for basic banking services.
“We are delighted by the giant strides of our agents in promoting financial inclusion and commend them for their efforts in taking banking to the doorsteps of Nigerians – irrespective of where they are, in a very effective way,” Adeduntan said.
Since 2020, First Bank has economically empowered thousands of its agents with over N100 billion credit facilities. It currently has over 180,000 agents, spread across the country’s 772 Local Government Areas.
The services carried out by the agents include account opening, cash deposit, airtime purchase, bills payment, withdrawals and money transfer.
