First Bank, the biggest bank in Nigeria by total deposits has extended its agent banking campaign to 14 major markets and business points across the country with the aim to include more Nigerians into the financial cycle.
The market activation and awareness creation of the Firstmonie Agent Network spanned between November 24 and December 16, 2018, which was an intensive period of customer engagement, education and by extension, financial inclusion.
According to Chuma Ezirim, First Bank of Nigeria Group Head, eBusiness, “with our Firstmonie Agents spread across the country, we are aggressive at increasing the penetration of financial services, especially in the suburbs while significantly reducing the unbanked in the country.”
The location visited in Delta state include; Ogbonogo Market, Koka Junction, Bonsac Junction, Ibusa Junction, while in Calabar in Cross River State, Mobil Junction, Etagbor Junction, Watt Market, Marian and Etim Edem Markets were the various location visited.
Swali, Tomba, Opolo and Nembe communities in Bayelsa state also got a feel of the campaign impact.
“We encourage the patronage of Firstmonie Agents irrespective of the location as these Agents are well trained to provide the FirstBank Gold Standard Services to customers,” Ezirim said.
Meanwhile, in about 18 months, the Firstmonie Agent Network has expanded to almost every Local Government Area in Nigeria (98 per cent coverage).
Firstmonie Agents are positioned within rural and semi-urban locations across the country to provide basic financial services such as account opening, cash deposit, cash withdrawals, airtime purchase, bill payments and much more to every Nigerian. Through this channel, the Bank is committed to providing convenient services that endear trust, provide ease of access to financial products, thereby saving time and travel costs. Transactions carried out through this channel are securely authenticated.
The agent banking model, which is in line with the mandate of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is targeted at ensuring individuals and members of the public, irrespective of their literacy levels, familiarity with technology or income levels can access financial services.
The FirstmonieAgent Channel delivers financial services outside conventional bank branches, often using non-retail agents – Firstmonie Agents – and relying on technology such as point-of-sale (POS) terminals or mobile phones for real time transaction processing.
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