Spotlight On Digital Financial Service Providers In Nigeria.

Digital Financial Services (DFS) is an innovative mix of innovative financial technologies to reach, connect and provide access to basic financial services to the unbanked and underbanked population in Nigeria. According to Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), there are a still about 59 million unbanked Nigerian adults. To address this, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had in 2012 drawn up the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) to ensure that over 80 per cent of the bankable adults in Nigeria have access to financial services by 2020. On October 26, 2018, CBN issued the Guidelines for the Regulation and Operation of Payment Service Banks in Nigeria, which was revised on August 27, 2020.

The apex bank’s desire to implement NFIS by expanding the mix of strategies to attain Financial Inclusion (FI) gave birth to Nigeria’s first payment service bank, 9 Payment Service Bank (9PSB). 9PSB is licenced by CBN to provide access to useful and affordable financial products and services to the unbanked and underbanked, as well as innovative payment services to individuals with bank accounts and corporates. It operates as a fully digital bank, while running its own agent banking network. 9PSB is the bank for everyone and offers seamless access to online & offline banking and payment experience.

The Chief Executive Officer of 9PSB, Branka Mracajac, stressing the importance of 9PSB in advancing Nigeria’s FI and DFS said, “We are committed to driving socio-economic growth through financial inclusion and our value proposition is to be “Your reliable growth partner”, offering simple yet robust products and solutions tailored to key segments: Customers, Businesses and Agents.” Branka futher said, “Our work to close the exclusion gap is guided by the 9PSB Pillars of Financial Inclusion: Driving Financial Literacy Programmes; Bridging the infrastructure gap for the underserved by ensuring access to low-cost financial services; Supporting the growth of our economy; Enabling nationwide development and eradication of poverty; Contributing to driving cash to cashless economy through grassroot initiatives and activities; Providing customer service excellence adjusted to the financially excluded population and; Empowering women, youth and other vulnerable groups through job creation and education.” 9PSB provides its customers convenient, affordable, and reliable solutions to transact, save and invest. It serves as a trusted growth partner for value creation and market expansion for Businesses; and Empower agents and provide them the required support to grow a sustainable business through banking services delivery in underserved areas. 9PSB’s vision is to be Africa’s market leader in technology-driven financial services through innovative secured products and solutions.

9PSB is deeply committed to contributing to finding a solution to the myriad of challenges which have long been the major barriers to a truly inclusive economy: lack of or low financial literacy/awareness, non-existent or low access to financial services even where some awareness may exist, poverty and low economic performance of the segment so affected. To deliver on this, it recently created a custom-tailored solution: Bank9ja - a bank agnostic mobile App and web platform which is designed to service both the totally excluded as well as the included but underserved in society, by allowing easy access and connection by all banks and other Fintechs willing and ready to partner with us. This multi-channel approach, in addition to a rapidly growing network of over 7,000 active agents spread across Nigeria, is bringing financial services to people’s doorsteps and finger-tips.

With cross sectoral collaborations, it has developed a 9PSB Financial Literacy Strategy to be implemented pan-Nigeria in all key languages for ease to understanding, and its efforts have been recognized by an invitation to join the CBN-led working group developing a “Strategy to Leverage Agent Networks for Women’s Financial Inclusion in Nigeria”, as a stakeholder and Committee member. 9PSB collaborates with choice partners such as: Deposit Money Banks in card co-issuance, cash evacuation, 9PSB agent banking cash fulfilment in DMB branches, etc; Payment System Service Providers (PSSP) in providing access to payments infrastructure; Payment Terminal System Providers (PTSP) enabling Merchants to become 9PSB agents, merchant acquiring; Super Agents: Providing services of Principal Financial Institution for agents in the Super Agent’s network, as well as access to payments infrastructure; 9PSB bank account opening, etc.. 9PSB works with Fintech in provision of specialised banking services for their customers via the Fintech’s digital channels and; Strategic Partners (other industries): 9PSB partners with organizations in various sectors that have existing retail distribution chains to enhance access to financial services across the country,” the company stated.

“Five core values define what we stand for, what we believe in and what we represent: Collaboration, Leadership, Innovation, Integrity, and Passion. Riding on our Number One core value (Collaboration), we are open, and are very deliberate to communicate this, to collaborations and partnerships aimed at driving financial inclusion and deepening financial services through innovative and cost-effective solutions. We are #OnaMissiontoBank9ja. We are set to revolutionise the payment space for all Nigerians through these partnerships and engagements.