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Access Bank plc is changing the face of financing and customer experience with the latest being the introduction of student credit card, which is designed to bridge the short-term financing gap among students of the university.
The bank gives the students N20,000 to enable them take care of their school needs and pay back the following month.
The requirements for accessing the credit cards include evidence of school fees payment, Student identity (ID) card and solo account.
Speaking at the official unveiling of the product at the University of Lagos, Akoka, last week, Victor Etuokwu, executive director, Personal Banking Division, said the credit card gives satudents the ability to plan their spending.
“As you know, in the country today, if you are a responsible borrower, you begin to create a credit history. When you leave school and you want to be an entrepreneur and you go to a bank, you show them your record and they will see that you have been a responsible borrower”, Etuokwu said.
He said, “banks have what is called a credit bureau and if your name enters the bureau as a bad borrower, you will be blacklisted. So, you need to be a good borrower.”
Doyin Coker, group head, youth banking explained that the student credit card is designed to provide short term financing to students of the university.
“The first thing is to help bridge any short term finance gaps and to help them build a credit history as responsible borrowers. Today we have a lot of entrepreneurs. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) drive the economy and you will be surprise that a lot of these SMEs are run by students so whether it is to meet a short-term personal finance or business, this will help them”, Coker said.
Speaking further she said, “The whole essence is that they borrow using the card. They can use it online or ATM, use it to pay bills and they are expected to repay within 10 days of the next month. They have two options – either they pay the full money at once or they can pay 15 percent every month until the money is fully repaid and they can re-borrow”.
“With this, we have provided a card and you can spend up to N20,000. Anytime you are broke, use your card, there would be money waiting for you there. As you payback whatever you have spent, you have your N20,000 available for you to spend”, Bite Omo-Udoyo, product manager, told students who gathered at UNILAG.
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