With effect from January 1, 2019, customers of Access Bank plc and Diamond Bank plc can have access to over 3,100 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) free of charge.
This implies that customers can use any Diamond Bank ATMs without paying the usual charges that apply on withdrawals from other banks’ ATMs.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on September 2014 reintroduced N65 charge on transactions at other bank’s ATM, known as remote-on us, after four withdrawals.
But with the merger of Access Bank and Diamond Bank in December 2018, the charge would not apply to customers of these banks.
“Access Bank has a strong track record of acquisition and integration and has a clear growth strategy. Access Bank and Diamond Bank have complementary operations and similar values, and a merger with Diamond Bank, with its leadership in digital and mobile-led retail banking, could accelerate our strategy as a significant corporate and retail bank in Nigeria and a Pan-African financial services champion. Access Bank has a strong financial profile with attractive returns and a robust capital position with 20.1 percent Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) as at 30 September 2018. We believe that this platform, together with the two banks’ shared focus on innovation, financial inclusion and sustainability, can bring benefits to Access Bank and Diamond Bank customers, staff and shareholders”, Herbert Wigwe, group managing directyor/CEO of Access Bank, said.
“In the memorandum of agreement to get into a merger with Diamond Bank, we believe that the combined enterprise will be a large diversified bank with an extreme extensive retail foot print. Together we will have 27 million customers which is basically the largest customer base of any bank in the continent, about 33,000 Point of Sale, PoS, terminals, and 3,000 Automated Teller Machines, ATMs, as well as 13 million mobile customers”, Wigwe added .
Access Bank is a full-service commercial bank operating through branches and service outlets located in major centres primarily across Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the United Kingdom (extension to United Arab Emirates (Dubai)), with representative offices in China, Lebanon, and India. The Group provides a wide range of banking and other financial services to over 10 million customers from 397 branches and service centres. Listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (1998) with its Bond instrument listed on the Irish Stock Exchange (2016), the Bank serves its various markets through four business segments: Personal, Business, Commercial and Corporate & Investment Banking.
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE
