Ecobank Nigeria says its agency banking scheme, also known as Xpress Points, is building entrepreneurs and pushing financial inclusion to the large unbanked and under-banked population in Nigeria.
In a statement, the lender explained that its Xpress Points enables eligible Agents to carry out financial transactions on behalf of the bank and earn commission on every transaction processed. The consumer experience is very good as customers can do simple deposits, payments and transfers in their own neighbourhood rather than travel for hours to a bank branch said Nike Kolawole, Head, Agency Banking, Ecobank Nigeria. According to her, the aim of the Xpress Point is to let every Nigerian household have access to Ecobank services within their neoghbourhood to provide easy banking services.
Further, Kolawole, noted that unemployed and retired persons should avail themselves with the opportunity to earn extra income by keying into services offered by the bank as Xpress point agents. According to her, the Ecobank Xpress point which are in various neighbourhoods across the country, are well-positioned to facilitate basic financial transactions, with the process and services simplified to attend to a broad spectrum of the society. She disclosed that agency banking in general brings about economic and youth empowerment by way of job creation and earning extra income, adding that small savers can easily do their savings at home or near their home. This leads to financial inclusion of the underbanked in the country.
In her words “Ecobank currently has over 43,000 agents across Africa. The agents carry out financial transactions on behalf of Ecobank and earn commission per transaction processed. Xpress Points can also be used as channels for the deployment of national social intervention programmes, especially at this time that we are fighting the impact of lockdowns due to the COVID-19. Services offered by the Xpress point agents includes cash in, cash out, fund transfer, bills payment, airtime recharge, remittance and account opening, among others. these services are available for “sole proprietors, partnerships, co-operative societies, microfinance banks, companies with large distribution network – like petrol stations, FMCGs, telecommunication companies, super agents, aggregators and unregistered businesses such as petty traders, hair saloon and others’’.
