(From left): Head, Marketing Communications & Customer Experience, 9 Payment Service Bank, Olushola Ogunyemi; Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director, 9 Payment Service Bank, Branka Mracajac; Head, Sales Strategic Partnerships & Distribution, 9 Payment Service Bank, Kunle Isiaka and Head, Business Development and Strategy, 9 Payment Service Bank, Martina Medac at the Digital Pay Expo and Exhibition 2023 held recently at Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos
Deploying tailor-made services key to closing gap on financial inclusion
[By VICTOR NZE]
Digital payment service bank, the 9PSB has reiterated the need for operators in the business sector seeking to drive financial inclusion to collaborate and provide innovative and tailor-made products and services so as to improve the situation of the underserved, and by extension drastically reduce the gap between the banked, the under-banked and the unbanked in the country.
Speaking while delivering a keynote address at the just-concluded 2023 Digital Pay Expo Conference and Exhibition on the topic: “Financial Inclusion and the New Customer Orientation”, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of 9Payment Service Bank, Branka Mracajac, emphasized the need for collaboration among all the players to better serve the under-banked citizens in Nigeria.
“There are over one million agents across Nigeria and none of them delivers any other products but payment transactions, cash in, cash out. This means that partnership is crucial for financial inclusion to happen in Nigeria. I am hoping that all payment service banks, fintech and other players in the market will move the numbers when it comes to financial inclusion.
“The situation in 2020 as stated by EFInA proves that only one out of two Nigerians was using regulated financial services. We see those 21.3 million adult women, representing 20% of Nigeria’s adult population and 17 million men, were yet to be included in the financial system. I trust that when the new data will be published this year, the statistics would have improved significantly.
“At 9PSB, we meet the unique needs of our customers at preferred touchpoints by serving the rural and underdeveloped communities with little or no access to traditional banking infrastructure, through our wide agent network. Providing fundamental financial services preceded by localized financial literacy efforts, to individuals and small businesses lies at the core of our offerings. Last year, we launched our Customer Experience Centre which is built on three critical pillars: Omni-channel Experience, Proactive Support and Reduced Customer Effort – aimed at ensuring we proactively provide exceptional services,” Mracajac remarked.
The Digital Pay Expo is a yearly event designed to bring together industry regulators, fintech top executives, and innovators in the fintech and payment solution space who are looking to collaborate to move the industry forward.
The platform provides a unique opportunity for industry players to discover new use cases and technologies that will accelerate the much-needed growth in the fintech ecosystem.
