Cross-border transactions are often impaired through the fault lines of the inefficient payment system, incompatible domestic infrastructure, lack of common message standards and perceived loss of money through fraud. In this exclusive interview, Product Manager and Team Lead, Switch, BOLANLE TYSON explores the multipurpose use of the star product, Switch Digital App, and how it is uniquely designed to address the basic concerns of Nigerians in diaspora.
Recently, Sterling Bank launched Switch as a product for the diaspora. Can you tell us about this new product?
Switch targets Nigerians in the diaspora. We have been working on the product for quite some time and we are passionate about it. We want to ensure that Nigerians, irrespective of where they reside, can transact locally here in Nigeria to fulfil their personal needs as well as their obligations for both family and personal reasons. Even though we recently launched the product, we are already receiving fantastic feedback and acceptance of the product.
What major problem was Switch developed to solve?
Switch was developed to lessen the burden that Nigerians in diaspora undergo in transferring money home. It helps them to invest in Nigeria without going through friends or families. We all have contacts of families, friends, or relatives in the diaspora. As such, we are familiar with how difficult it can be for them to get transactions done here in Nigeria without them having an intermediary.
They always need to know someone, speak with someone and pass through a whole lot of stress before they can get transactions done. And trust is often broken in many cases when people are in such a situation. But today, we are addressing the situation with Switch.
And we do know that most Nigerians abroad are working very hard and would like to invest back here for several reasons such as building the economy and supporting their families and friends. Even investment-wise, we are looking at how best to include them in the economy without their physical presence or necessarily going through their families and friends who they are not sure of their character any longer.
We wanted to put all of those transactions and financial powers totally in the hands of our customers and more so, for them to have oversight into every single detail and steps taken to enable them to know the real value that they desire. The product is designed primarily for Nigerians in diaspora, but it is also available to those who reside in Nigeria and who are 18 years and above.
How would you assess the initial response of the target audience?
At the formative stage, we decided to open Switch to Nigerians who reside outside the country. And so far, the reception has been awesome. Their response indicated that the product is what they need; what they wanted and what they have been waiting for. We did this because you cannot build a product for someone based on your assumption or wisdom alone.
You must build a product that suits and serves the needs of the people who are really in that situation. The reception has been great. The numbers are growing, and they are still giving us more ideas about growing it.
Which are the participating banks?
We have partners within and outside the country because there are some services that we need to have but we do not have them in Nigeria.
We have these partners because they have the capabilities to carry out our transactions favourably with our customers. And as we keep expanding and growing, our partnership and network are also growing. There are some other partners currently on the pipeline.
Only those who are domiciled in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada can utilise Switch for now. What were the criteria used to determine the choice of these countries and when will more countries be included?
We started with the United States, United Kingdom and Canada simply because we have a large population of Nigerians in those countries. The trend now is that a lot of Nigerians are migrating to Canada. This implies that Canada is another hot spot where the Nigerian community is expanding.
Canada is a wide country where cities and provinces are quite far from one another. We have Diaspora Banking in the United Kingdom. So, these, among others, were the factors we considered before choosing the three countries in the beginning. However, we will be expanding to more countries from the end of this year and first quarter of 2021.
As part of our expansion drive, Nigerians that reside in the Federal Republic of Benin, Cameroon, South Africa, China, or Dubai will have direct access to Switch. We also noticed from statistical records that a lot of inflows and remittances come from these countries.
What we tried to do is to work with the partners that can help us speed up some of the settlement processes.
Is it an open banking solution that allows other banks to plug in?
I would not describe it as open banking even though that is the future. The UK and Europe are largely operating open banking. However, our technology is built such that we can scale up and work faster. We are proactive. We comply with regulatory requirements.
If the government policy changes tomorrow to open banking, we shall plug in as fast as possible. There will be a time where it will not be a matter of how many apps a bank has, but its ability to conduct due diligence on a client who is seeking facility within a short period. This is where the technological deployment of data shall become the focal point for financial institutions.
Is forex restriction in Nigeria not an obstacle to the effective and efficient operation of Switch and what are the mitigants?
I understand that we do have this limitation in Nigeria. But we must admit that some limitations are beyond our control because they are regulatory inclined. To mitigate this, we are partnering with some licenced institutions. Whenever we speak to partners in other climes, they always say that our operating environment is unique.
Part of what we are also trying to do is to enhance our support for customers in terms of conversion, remittances and offer fees at better rates. We are committed to getting the right partners that will help us facilitate remittances at competitive rates.
Switch is zero-fee for account funding with Card for the first six months. What should customers expect to happen after six months?
One unique thing about our transaction is the transparency in fees and charges. We always do this in all our transaction processes. By the time charges will be applied to a particular service or product, we would have informed the customers ahead on why we are introducing such charges. Switch is cross-bordered, and we have intermediaries and players that are involved in the value chain.
Is the country’s present macroeconomic policy and environment favourable towards the uptake of Switch?
We are in a digital era and Switch is a digital product. Therefore, its operation is consistent with the current operating environment. The product is designed to enhance seamless cross-border transaction, irrespective of the country’s macroeconomic policy. We shall continue to deliver value to our clients.
Customer apathy towards mobile apps is always fueled by the fear of fraud. What measures are in place to reassure customers?
Some of the ways to address the fear is to look at the process by ourselves. So far, we have been able to subscribe to technologies that try to reduce social engineering whereby someone elsewhere is trying to steal your OTP code and you are the one being called. We shall continue to improve on our processes to avoid any interference.
We have also put in a place a process for flagging and monitoring fraud and suspicious transactions. By this, we can block or restrict the account of a customer once we notice something unusual. What we have done so far is to introduce such security measures and different kinds of mechanisms into the development of the application itself.
This is aside from the awareness we are doing regularly with our customers on technology. We attend to issues online and real-time. We are using technologies that will help us drive the digital era and better manage our customers’ transactions.
What excites you about the product?
Switch excites me because I have families and friends outside the country and I also understand what it takes them to do a transaction from outside. I know why they must call me every time to help them. I am excited because if you put power into people’s hands, you will be helping the economy because Switch is a transparent mobile app. I am very excited about it because it is digital, and you can comfortably explore it at your comfort zone. There is nothing that you cannot even explore with technology.
What is your message to Nigerians in diaspora?
Nigerians in the diaspora should know that Switch is specifically designed for them and they should be encouraged to utilise and explore every opportunity embedded in it. We are here to help the customer to grow his money through professional utilisation of the value chains. Also, we welcome valuable insights as we adopt a co-creation model where customer feedback helps us to optimize.
