Poor network, inconsistent biometric-enabled Point of Sale (PoS) and tedious account opening processes, among others, have been identified as factors responsible for the low patronage of agent banking scheme, BusinessDay interactions with operators have shown.
Also, lack of public enlightenment campaign is believed to be making the scheme to be struggling to make its mark in the financial services space, as it battles to boost banks’ financial status as a result of insufficient information available to its target customers.
Since the introduction of agency banking by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in line with the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, to boost savings, the operators have been faced with a couple of challenges ranging from poor network, inconsistent biometric-enabled Point of Sale (PoS) and tedious account opening process. Most especially, the low patronage experienced by some of the agents is mainly due to lack of potential clients’ education.
The CBN and the commercial banks may not have been doing enough on their parts to achieve the promotion of financial inclusion in Nigeria and sustaining the country’s development. This, the operators target to reduce the number of adult Nigerians excluded from the formal financial services from 46.3 percent in 2012 to 20 percent in 2020. This can easily be done through agent banking with specific targets for payments, savings, credit and insurance.
Many banks in the country have adopted the agent banking system, but members of the public are yet to be educated about the innovation aimed at expanding banking services on wider scale.
An agent of one of the banks at Ikotun area of Lagos, who did not want his name mentioned, claimed to have an encouraging patronage, but complained of lack of intensive customers’ awareness.
According to the agent, “People here are doing it like daily contribution. They ensure they put in something into their account daily, no matter how little. But the challenge is that many people in the market here and other places do not know about this kind of savings and the benefits.”
With the alarming number of market women, artisans and people who do not operate bank accounts, the apex bank deemed it necessary to reach out to the unbanked and under banked. Some commercial banks have explicitly outlined the benefits in the scheme to include zero opening balance, no daily minimum balance, convenient and affordable and it also provides economic empowerment for the financially excluded, but these banks have not been educating the targets market appropriately.
While many market women are still in doubt of the credibility of the operations of some bank agents who approach them for savings in their business places, some others seek banking schemes that can provide them with credits for their businesses.
Nkiru Martins, a trader in Lagos Island, said banking was incomplete without the customers being able to access loan, saying there was also need for the bank to assure them of security of funds and efficient services. “We do not want to hear bad story. We want mutually beneficial banking services,” she said.
