First Bank of Nigeria Limited has revealed that its agent banking network, Firstmonie agents, collectively processed transaction volume in excess of one billion, amounting to over N22 trillion, as part of its efforts at promoting financial inclusion in Nigeria.
The Nigerian premier and leading financial services provider disclosed this in a statement sent to InsideBusiness on Thursday, hinting that the bank currently has over 180,000 Firstmonie agents, spread across 772 Local Government Areas in the states.
“Firstmonie Agents have been integral to bringing financial services closer to the underbanked and unbanked segment of the society, providing convenient banking services that are easily accessible, thereby saving time and travel costs for individuals in the suburbs and remote environments with no access to financial services.
“Popularly referred to as the ‘Human ATM’, Firstmonie Agents are empowered to reduce the reliance on over-the-counter transactions while providing convenient personalized services. Amongst the services carried out by the Agents include; Account Opening, Cash Deposit, Airtime Purchase, Bills Payment, Withdrawals and Money Transfer,” the bank stated.
Through various empowerment and reward schemes, FirstBank said it has put Firstmonie agents at advantage to economically impact their immediate communities whilst having their business sustained, adding that over N100 billion credit facility has been expended to the agents.
The agent banking scheme has remained a toast to Nigerians, irrespective of where they are in the country.
It noted amongst the schemes to include the Agent Credit – launched in 2020 – which has had the bank provide credit facilities to the tune of N238 billion to its teeming Firstmonie agents.
The bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Adesola Adeduntan, while expressing appreciation to the Firstmonie agents, said, “since the relaunch of our Agent Banking scheme in 2018, our Firstmonie Agents have played a vital role in bridging the financial inclusion gap in the country, as many more people have been able to undertake various financial and business transactions in cost-effective ways, thereby saving a lot of time and money in travelling over long distances for basic banking services.
“We are delighted by the giant strides of our Firstmonie Agents in promoting financial inclusion and commend them for their efforts in taking banking to the doorsteps of Nigerians – irrespective of where they are – in a very effective way.”
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