- FirstBank Expands Agency Banking Network
First Bank of Nigeria Limited says it has expanded its agency banking network to every state in the country.
The bank said in a statement that the expansion was part of its efforts to drive financial inclusion and deepen financial services across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria through cost-effective channels.
It said the Firstmonie Agent network was re-launched in July 2017 with a pilot scheme in six densely-populated states of Lagos, Oyo, Kano, Abuja FCT, Anambra and Rivers.
According to the statement, after an impressive six-month pilot that ended in December 2017, the agency banking scheme was extended nationwide in January 2018.
The statement read in part, “Within six months of its launch, the scheme has made appreciable progress with an extensive network spread across every state, and at every Local Government Area nationwide.
“To demonstrate its acceptance and growing importance, the Firstmonie Agent network processes over 100,000 transactions worth over N1bn on a daily basis.
“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.”
The statement added that through the agent banking channel, the bank committed to providing convenient services that provided easy access to financial products, thereby saving time and travel costs.
The Group Head, eBusiness, FirstBank, Chuma Ezirim, said the bank was focused on building a quality agent network in the country by deploying a robust risk framework and the right product mix to ensure viability and security of the network.
Ezirim stated that the agency banking scheme was aimed at deepening financial services access, especially in the unserved and underserved segments of the market.
He encouraged individuals in local communities to look out for the Firstmonie agent locations close to them for all their banking needs.
