Heritage Bank Plc, has taken aggressive approach to support the Central Bank of
Nigeria's initiative to curb the unbanked Nigerians in the rural areas by 20
percent by 2020, thereby offering financial services to the nooks and crannies
of Nigerian communities; providing access to underserved markets.
The policy was sequel to a research conducted by an
international agency, Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFINA) in
2008 which showed that about 74 percent of Nigeria’s rural community was
un-banked. Against this backdrop, the CBN therefore initiated the policy with
the aim of reducing the figure by 20 percent by 2020 to ensure greater
participation in the nation’s financial sector.
Heritage Bank which launched the programme about two years
ago, revealed at the weekend, during the signing up of two agents' corner
shops, disclosed that it would bring onboard 1, 000 agent partners by the
ending of 2017.
The two corner shops opened over the weekend High Rise
Business Centre in Simawa community behind Redeemed Convention Camp and Layeni
Folayemi Enterprises in Omu Ijebu, both in Ogun State.
As at June 2017, the agent base had grown at an average rate
of 50 new agent sign ups monthly bringing the total number of active agents to
about 450 and growing. This lends credibility to the consistency of the service
and how it is changing lives and empowering Nigerians across the country.
At this steady growth rate of approximately 17.5 per cent
new agent per month on can say that hitting the long term vision of 100, 000
active agents in five years is well within reach.
However, to this effect, the MD/CEO of Heritage Bank, Ifie
Sekibo, explained that the bank has continued to set standard in the launching
of ‘Corner Shop’ to cater for the need of traders and artisans at different
locations across the country.
Speaking at the commissioning of the agent, Zonal Business
Coordinator, South-West, South-South, Agent Banking, Heritage Bank, Oluwakemi
Adewunmi, noted that there was indeed a gap in the community without any
financial institution to service the need of the people.
Adewunmi assured that with the new development, accessing
banking services in Omu Ijebu and Simawa areas have become easier for all the
people in the community. Her words: “It does not matter whether you have your
bank account with Heritage Bank or otherwise, the mobile POS deployed by the
agent will make banking at the people’s doorstep so easy and stress-free.
The latest however came with a peculiarity as a community
leader and politician, Olatunde Rotimi Paseda, an indigene of Omu Ijebu
released a property to the bank for the purpose of financial inclusion.
Paseda, a governorship aspirant under the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) in 2015
general elections, released the building to the bank in order to cushion the
stress the indigenes of the locality faced anytime they wanted to transact
banking business. Before now, the people living in the neighbourhood and its
environs used to travel to Ijebu Ode where banks have their branches located
before they could carry out even the basic banking obligation.
Mrs. Layeni Folayemi, promoter of Layeni Folayemi
Enterprises, Corner Shop who made the disclosure at the launch of the agent
outlet on Thursday, acknowledged that the presence of Heritage Bank in Omu
Ijebu would greatly help to alleviate the pains the people hitherto experienced
in accessing bank for financial transactions.
Managing Director of High Rise Business Centre, Corner Shop,
Ogundayini Godwin said he set up the facility in a bid to save cost and energy
for the residents of the community, adding that before the advent of the agency
arrangement; people in the community used to spend about N600 to be able to
withdraw any amount of money from the ATM in Redeemed Convention Camp.
He said there is high liquidity in the community with some people coming to make deposits while others come to make withdrawals.
He said there is high liquidity in the community with some people coming to make deposits while others come to make withdrawals.
Some of the customers were very enthusiastic with the programme and commended the bank for the bold and laudable policy.
0 Comments