The United Nations’ 2019 Revision of World Population Prospects report reveals that about 62 per cent of Nigeria’s population are below the age of 25, and less than 5 per cent are 60years and above. The other 33 per cent is made up of millennials- people born between 1981 and 1996. This means that the bulk of Nigeria’s population falls within the cohort described by Bank of America as the most disruptive generation ever. This generation has compelled older generations to adapt to their technology-savvy lifestyles, causing a rapid increase in internet penetration in Nigeria.
This burgeoning youth population has necessitated institutions going digital with their services. While some are yet to adapt their services to fit this new wave of digital transformation, some others are blazing the trail, transforming the nation’s financial market through innovative digital products. At the fore-font of the trailblazing banks is a leading financial organisation, Fidelity Bank PLC.
Fidelity Bank has modified a range of its offerings and introduced new ones to better serve young people’s needs for digitization of banking. One of the exciting new additions is the Fidelity virtual card. The virtual cards come in handy when customers misplace their physical cards, have not replaced expired cards or realize that their cards are too far away when they need to complete an urgent transaction. These cards can be linked to any of their Fidelity Bank accounts and are 100 per cent secure.
Fidelity Bank is also leading the growing number of foresighted financial institutions partnering with fintech companies to transform the banking landscape. The Bank recently partnered with PayAttitude, a Nigerian fintech company that leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence for seamless payments and financial transactions. With this partnership, Fidelity Bank customers now have the option of carrying out safe and secure transactions using just their phone numbers.
Additionally, the Bank launched a chatbot called Ivy, which helps with customers’ queries and allows them to perform simple banking tasks without visiting the bank. Customers can engage the chatbot to open an account, resolve a complaint, make fixed deposit applications, ask questions, transfer fast funds, pay bills or get in touch with a live agent. So far, this revolutionary chatbot has ticked all the essential boxes of speed, accuracy, efficiency and security, making her the best chatbot the Nigerian banking industry has seen, according to KPMG’s 2020 Digital Channels Scorecard. Added to these commendable qualities is Ivy’s ability to make customers feel like they are interacting with an actual person, giving them a complete banking experience.
Led by its visionary CEO and MD, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, Fidelity Bank continues to leverage innovative digital solutions and partnerships to transform banking for its over 5 million customers.
