FirstBank boosts financial inclusion with N100b

By Collins NwezeFirst Bank of Nigeria Limited has loaned N100 billion to Firstmonie in line with its commitment to promoting financial inclusion.The loan extension occurred barely a year after the bank launched its agent credit scheme.The bank has been at the forefront of promoting financial inclusion in the country, impacting Nigerians, regardless of their locations nationwide.The bank currently has over 114,000 Firstmonie Agents, spread across 772 Local Government Areas in the country.The Agent Credit scheme was created by the bank to promote and expand the business activities of its foremost agent banking platformFirstmonie Agentswhilst putting them at an advantage to positively impact their immediate environment.Firstmonie agents have been integral to bridging the financial exclusion gap, providing convenient banking services that are easily accessible, thereby saving time and travel costs for individuals in the suburbs and remote environments that have no access to financial services.The banks financial inclusion activities are in line with the mandate of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure the availability of affordable financial products and services to all individuals and groups of people in the country, irrespective of location, literacy levels, familiarity with technology and accessibility to modern infrastructural facilities. The Firstmonie Agent channel is amongst the Banks many initiatives to expand financial access in the country.Reiterating the banks role in deepening financial inclusion in the country, Group Executive, e-Business & Retail Products, Chuma Ezirim, said we are truly excited about the tremendous impact of the Agent Credit on the performance of our Firstmonie Agents nationwide. Since the introduction of the Agent Credit to support our Human ATMs as we fondly call our Firstmonie Agents, they have recorded immense growth in their businesses, at levels they never envisaged in such a short period.Our key goal is to continue to deliver financial services to the underserved and unbanked populations, employing modern technology for processing of real time transactions and in doing so, contribute to building capacities and learning new skills in information technology, cash management and relationship management for our FirstMonie agents, the bank said.We encourage our Firstmonie Agents to keep being exemplary in setting the pace to promote financial inclusion as we collectively work towards the continuous growth and development of the national economy, the bank added.
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