The Nation Newspaper

Category: Money

  • Access Bank appoints new Executive Director

    The Board of Directors of Access Bank has appointed Mrs. Titi Osuntoki as a new Executive Director in charge Business Banking.

    In a statement, the lender said the unit is a business division within the bank and is focused on Small and Medium (SMEs). It described Mrs. Osuntoki as a highly qualified and experienced banker with over two decades of experience cutting across all facets of banking.

    According to the bank, Osuntoki joined Guaranty Trust Bank Plc in 1991 and was appointed Executive Director in 2008. In that role, she had direct responsibility for strategy formulation and business development in the bank’s Lagos Division and left Guaranty Trust Bank in October 2011.

    She is a member of the Non-Oil/Non-Agric Policy Commission of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group. Until this appointment, she was an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Board of Wapic Insurance Plc and the Chief Executive Officer of GTO Professional Services Limited, a business consultancy outfit based in Lagos.

    She holds a Second Class Upper Degree in Civil Engineering and an MBA from the University of Lagos. She is an alumnus of Cranfield University School of Management, UK. Mrs. Osuntoki has attended Executive Management Programmes in world leading Business Schools.

    The appointment has been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria. By this appointment, Access Bank Board now comprises of 16 directors made up of seven Executive Directors and nine Non-Executive Directors, 2 of whom are Independent directors.

  • Petrol, food imports cut external reserves to $43b

    The foreign reserves fell to $43.5 billion as at January 2, as petroleum and food imports soared. The reserves, which stood at $45.4 billion last September 30, have maintained a steady fall in recent months.

    The level of Nigeria’s external reserves fell to a low of $43.63 billion last December 30. This is the lowest level since November, 2012 and a decline of 10.7 per cent from 2013’s Year to Date peak of $48.86 billion.

    The continuous use of the external buffers to support the value of the naira, declining oil receipts are among the contributing factors to the depletion. However, this level of reserves is sufficient to fund an import bill of approximately seven months.

    With over 50 per cent of foreign exchange utilised for the importation of fuel and food, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said policy should focus on a comprehensive backward integration production strategy, while fast-tracking the repair of the existing refineries.

    As at October 10, the reserves were at $45.3 billion, as against $46 billion on September 19, and $47 billion on August 19, data from the CBN website showed.

    Further findings showed that the reserves were at $47.7 billion on July 1, and dropped to $47 billion on July 15. They also entered August 1 at $47 billion. The foreign currency reserves had five year ago, in August 2008, peaked at $68 billion before the global financial crises impacted negatively on it.

    Chief Operating Officer, Citi Bank Nigeria, Akin Dawodu said the reserves are assets held by the CBN and monetary authorities, mostly in dollar to back their liabilities, such as the naira.

    He explained that manipulating reserves levels can enable CBN intervene against volatile fluctuations in currency by affecting the exchange rate and increasing the demand for the naira. “Reserves act as shock absorber against factors that can negatively affect a country’s exchange rates and, therefore the CBN uses the reserves to maintain a steady rate,” he explained during training for financial journalists in Lagos.

    Analysis of foreign exchange utilised by sectors revealed that $7.83 billion was expended on the importation of visible goods into the country in the second quarter as against $6.63 billion and $7.74 billion in first quarter and second quarter of 2012.

    Also, large part of the reserves were utilised in the importation of oil, industrial, food and manufactured products in the ratio of 30.3, 28.0, 20.4 and 13.3 per cent of the total.

    Further analysis revealed that a total of $8.70 billion or 52.6 per cent of total foreign exchange was used for services as against $3.78 billion in first quarter. Of this amount, financial services (banking and other financial services, asset management and money transmission) constituted the bulk, $7.78 billion or 89.3 per cent of total, while the balance was accounted for by transportation, communications, business and other services.

     

  • Why trial of erring BDCs is delayed

    When will the 20 bureau de change (BDC) operators accused of money laundering be brought to book? This poser remains unanswered three months after the withdrawal of the BDC licences and the promise of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to prosecute them.

    The CBN, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the police seem to be passing the buck in the monster.

    CBN Director of Communication Ugochukwu Okoroafor told The Nation that the regulator cannot prosecute the culprits because does not have such powers.

    “The CBN can’t prosecute, but we have done our own job. Contact the police and EFCC. They are the ones to take it from where we stopped,” he said.

    At the EFCC, nothing seemed to have been done also.

    The EFCC spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, told The Nation on phone that he would make enquiries before commenting.

    An insider at the Bureau De Change Association of Nigeria, said the affected firms failed to provide detailed reports on how the dollars sourced from the suspended Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS) were utilised.

    The result showed that the 20 affected BDCs failed the returns rendition test, which penalty is a fine, or revocation of licences. The source said the level of abuse was so massive that the CBN decided to revoke their licences to serve as deterrent to others.

    “Given that BDCs were long viewed as a potential source of forex leakage in the system, these measures should boost confidence in the sustainability of the forex band,” the source said.

    The affected BDCs are FBN BDC, Amity Global BDC Ltd, Haruna A. Rahaman BDC Ltd, Majia BDC Ltd, Ahali BDC Ltd, Lawabash BDC Ltd, Bin Dahuud BDC Ltd, Garin Gabas BDC, D & D BDC Ltd and Daytrader BDC Ltd.

    Others are Fatahul BDC Ltd, Global Payments BDC Ltd, Startime BDC Ltd, Planet Ventures BDC Ltd, Fadima BDC Ltd, Optimum BDC Ltd, Secon BDC Ltd, Asabana BDC Ltd, Maiksal BDC Ltd and Alim BDC Ltd.

    It was the result of the inspection made the CBN that WDAS was being grossly abused by BDCs, hence the return to Retail Dutch Auction (RDAS).

    In a statement, ABCON advised BDC operators to comply with the anti-money laundering policy being implemented by the CBN.

    ABCON Acting President, Aminu Gwadabe, said the CBN measures were in line with the group’s position on compliance with regulatory requirements.

    “When it comes to the issue of non-compliance with regulatory requirements, especially rendering returns as well as compliance with approved limits for foreign exchange transactions, the association has a zero-tolerance position. We have made it known to our members that we will not hesitate to impose sanctions, or report to the CBN any member found guilty of not complying with these requirements. So, we are fully in support of the actions of the CBN.”

    He said such action was necessary to ensure sanity in the foreign exchange market, and most importantly the stability of the naira, which is critical to our economy.

    The ABCON chief said most of the 3000 licensed BDCs in the country, conduct their businesses in compliance with the requirements of the CBN, and only a few are exception, noting that the actions of these few ones however, are capable of creating negative impression about the BDC subsector, and also undermine the stability of the naira.

    “Any BDC that is not playing by the rules is a threat to the business of other operators, and also to the foreign exchange market as a whole. Such BDC have become a cancer to the system and they should be treated as such,” he said.

     

  • MasterCard rewards investors

    MasterCard, the global payments giant, has unveiled a plan for its shareholders seeking income.

    The firm said it will tomorrow, split its stock 10-for-1. Shareholders will receive their nine additional shares on January 21. Total shares outstanding will increase from 120 million to 1.2 billion.

    MasterCard has the third-highest share price in the S&P 500, behind Google.

    The company also announced a 83 per cent increase to its quarterly dividend and increased its quarterly dividend 83 per cent to $1.10 per share, or a split-adjusted 11 cents per share. This is in line with a trend of companies adding to dividends as improved earnings leave them with large cash piles, MasterCard has doubled its dividend twice since May 2012 after several years at 15 cents per share.

    Finally, it issued a new $3.5 billion share buyback programme. Citi analyst Donald Fandetti wrote in a note that these moves are all positives for the stock, noting particular optimism for the share repurchase.

    The show of confidence comes one month after the credit card company reported better than expected earnings and transaction growth. MasterCard shares are up 58.2 per cent year-over-year. Competitor Visa is up 35.6 per cent in the same period and closed at $199.43. In September Visa was added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, MasterCard is not one of the average’s 30 stocks.

     

  • Budget: Govt votes N712b for debt servicing

    Budget: Govt votes N712b for debt servicing

    TThe Federal Government will spend N712 billion on debt servicing this fiscal year.

    The amount is over N100 billion higher than the N591.8 billion voted for the facility last year.

    Analysing the budget, Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Limited (FDL), Bismarck Rewane, said the percentage of aggregate expenditure to be spent on capital expenditures decreased from 31.34 per cent last year to 27 per cent this year, while recurrent expenditures increased from 68.66 per cent in 2013 to 73 per cent.

    This, he said, was contrary to the fiscal strategy adopted over the past two years, geared to-wards correcting the lopsided imbalance between recurrent and capital spending.

    “The strategy has succeeded in lowering recur-rent spending from 74.4 per cent in 2011 to 68 per cent in 2013, while raising capital from 25.6 per cent to 32 per cent within the same time span.

    Capital spending is set to bear the brunt, albeit temporarily, of the projected significant reduction in revenues in 2014 as it is essentially being crowded out by personnel cost which is projected to in-crease from N1.718 trillion in 2013 to N1.723 trillion this year.

    Notwithstanding the decrease in aggregate expenditure, the fiscal deficit is projected to increase, although marginally to 1.9 per cent from 1.85 per cent in 2013. The increased deficit is, however, still within the threshold stipulated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007.

    In addition, the budget projects a 0.86 per cent reduction in domestic borrowing to N572 billion from N577 billion in 2013, implying an increase in external borrowing.

    Rewane said the noticeably more conservative budget is based on lower bench mark oil price and production projections, and places more emphasis on recurrent spending which is in slight contradiction with the budget theme, given the direct link between infrastructural development and jobs.

     

  • The other side of cash-less banking

    The other side of cash-less banking

    Two years after its introduction by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), cash-less banking is still facing some challenges. These are erratic Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of  Sale (PoS) and internet banking downtime. Customers also seem to lack confidence in the scheme, writes COLLINS NWEZE.

    Cash-less banking was two on January 1, but the challenges confronting it when it was first launched in Lagos are still there.

    From non-working Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), debiting of customers’accounts without payment, and poor network in the use of Point of Sale (PoS) terminals, many customers using these alternative banking channels have sad stories to tell.

    Saheed Adeoye, a civil servant, based in Lagos, who was at the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Ikeja Distribution Company, Ogba unit to pay his bill, said it took him more than two days to make the payment because the PoS was not working.

    He said the poor network challenge, which is becoming a daily occurrence, made users to abandon the device and reverted to cash payment. This, he said, led to long queues. “We have a long queue because there is only one person that is attending to us, besides the PoS is not working. There is need to get more people involved in bill collection, and also get the PoS working too. I have been here several times today and was told that the server is down,” he told The Nation.

    Michael Okoye, who was also at the PHCN office to pay his bills, said he was disappointed that the PoS device was not working. “Aside campaigning for the use of alternative channels such as the PoS and ATMs in settling bills, the banks and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) need to get the platforms in good working condition,” he said.

    Nigerians, he said, were being denied the convenience and efficiency experienced by other countries in bills payment using alternative banking channels such as ATMs, PoS and internet.

    Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor, Operations Tunde Lemo said the apex bank was aware of the challenges, adding that it is working on how to enhance connectivity in the system. The challenges, he said, were not insurmountable.

    Speaking on the theme: “The evolution to the future Cash-less Nigeria: Positioning the Nigerian Payment ad Settlement Ecosystem for Cash-less Reality,” at the 20th anniversary of the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System (NIBSS) in Lagos, he said: “We have been talking about how to enhance connectivity and one of the things agreed was to work with some service providers. But beyond that, we looked and decided what else to do, particularly outside of Lagos now that we have rolled out the cash-ess policy to six other states outside Lagos.”

    So far, he said, the CBN has licenced 21 mobile money operators, but the challenge remains how to link mobile money to the Point of Sale (PoS), among other issues.

    “That is a challenge that we are also working on. If mobile phones can serve as a touch point, our transactions would go up rapidly. So, these are some of the things we are looking at, hoping that by next year, as we roll out more PoS machines, we have to see how we integrate the mobile phones into the network because in the hinterlands, the challenges would be more. We hope to roll-out to all the state capitals by the second quarter of this year,” he said.

    Lemo explained that the second anniversary is an opportunity for operators and regulators to come together and talk about how to continue to transform the payment system in the country.

    “Of course we have ratcheted up transactions around electronic payment. We haven’t done badly at all, but there are still a lot to be covered and we have made significant progress in the area of infrastructure provision, particularly led by the cashless programme of the CBN. We believe that if we continue to drive this, then we will make the payment system a lot more efficient,” he said.

    According to him, an efficient payment system is good for the transmission of monetary policy and that is why it is important to us at the CBN. It is also good for financial stability because a stable financial system is seen through how efficient the payment system is.

    “Once a payment system is in turmoil, it affects the financial system. So, a very effective payment system is going to be an effective anchor for the transformation of our economy even as we strive to be one of the 20 biggest economies in the world by 2020,” he said.

    Lemo explained that the cashless policy initiative is a huge success. Two years ago, we had less than 10,000 PoS machines, but today, we have over 150,000.

    “We used to have transactions of less than 100,000, but today, on a daily basis we have between 600 million and one billion and that is just Lagos and one or two other locations. But by the time we roll out across the country, you are going to see a much more transformed payment system and a lot more volume on the electronic payment space,” he said.

    Lemo said the use of mobile phones and PoS terminals in implementing the cashless project remains critical.

    “That is a challenge that we are also working on. If mobile phones can serve as a touch point, our transactions would go up rapidly. So, these are some of the things we are looking at, hoping that by next year, as we roll out more PoS machines, we have to see how we integrate the mobile phones into the network because in the hinterlands, the challenges would be more. We hope to roll-out to all the state capitals by the second quarter of next year,” he said.

    The Deputy Governor said a very effective payment system is going to be an effective anchor for the transformation of the economy even as the country strives to be one of the 20 biggest economies in the world by 2020.

     

    Charges

    Cash-less banking charges on cash withdrawal and deposit transactions started on October 2, last year, in the Federal Capital Territory, Abia, Anambra, Kano, Ogun and Rivers states.

    CBN Director of Communication, Ugochukwu Okoroafor said the policy was meant to reduce the amount of cash in circulation and encourage more electronic-based solutions for payment for goods and services, transfers among others.

    Since the project was introduced in 2012 in Lagos, many commercial banks have through emails, text messages and formal letters been sensitising their customers on the need to embrace alternative payment options.

     

    Banks react

    In an emailed statement to its customers, GTBank said the policy would drive the development and modernisation of Nigeria’s payments system within the Abuja and selected states. It said all individuals and corporate will be encouraged to adopt electronic payment and other banking options.

    The policy, which before now, is only operational in Lagos State in terms of charges, is aimed at promoting the use of electronic-based transactions instead of cash for payments for goods, services, transfers among other services.

    The implementation of the ‘Cash-less Lagos’, as it is known, began on January 1, 2012 and has recorded improvements is the use of PoS, ATMs and other e-payment tools. In Lagos, the service charges/fees did not apply until March 30, 2012, in order to give people time to migrate to electronic channels and experience the infrastructure that has been put in place.

    The policy framework stipulates that cash-in-transit lodgment and cash evacuation services will no longer be available to customers or merchants. For individual account holders, charges on cash transactions will apply when daily withdrawals and deposits are in excess of N500,000 while for corpo-rate account holders, charges will apply when daily withdrawals and deposits are in excess of N3 million.

     

    e-payment firms speak

    Kamran Siddiqi, Visa’s Group Executive, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, has said the cash-less banking initiative is modernising the payment system and creating economic development for the country. He was in Nigeria last year to support Visa’s financial literacy and cashless payments drive.

    “Nigeria is a very important market for us. It is exciting for me to be here to support the progress Visa has made in driving financial inclusion and making electronic payments more accessible to everyone everywhere,” he said.

    He said Visa is dedicated to increasing financial literacy among the unbanked through strategic partnerships and educational programmes.

    “This was the motivation behind the recent highly successful Financial Literacy Challenge with the Co-Creation Hub. It was geared at stimulating the development of innovative web and mobile applications to teach money management skills and support the advancement of financial literacy in Nigeria,” he said.

    He noted that another of Visa’s focus areas in Nigeria and the West African region is to continue to boost tourism and cross border spend. Nigeria enjoyed a 25 per cent increase in spending by international travellers using their Visa cards in 2012.

    Also, international Visa cardholders increased tourism spending from $95.2 million in 2011 to $119.5 million in 2012. Total transactions rose 31.1 per cent from 553 747 to 727 113.

     

    Bankers’ Committee intervenes

    The Bankers’ Committee has also taken the cash-less policy campaign to Ogun State to enlighten the people on the use and benefits of the policy.

    The scheme was extended to Ogun, Kano, Anambra and Abia states as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on July 1, last year.

    The initiative, which has entered its second phase, saw the CBN and bank officials staging road shows in six delineated zones (Ilaro, Mowe/Ibafo, Ota, Abeokuta, Sagamu and Ijebu-Ode) in Ogun State, to create awareness on how to use different payment channels, such as ATMs, PoS and money transfers.

    According to a statement from the Bankers’ Committee, the six-day activities saw market men and women, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), among others, being educated on how to transact business electronically.

     

  • Enterprise Bank’s Mastercard Verve recognised

    The effort of the management of Enterprise Bank Limited at building a solid bank has again been rewarded as the bank’s Master Card Verve has been named “Best Transaction Payment Product of The Year 2013.”

    In a statement, the bank said the award was organised by the Institute for Government Research & Leadership Technology.

    Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association and the Institute’s Chairman-In-Council, Priscilla Kuye, handed over the award to Taiwo Omoyeni and Nelson Ochonogor, officials of the bank at the just concluded annual African Products Forum.

    She said the product was singled out for recognition because of its acceptability in the market place and its unprecedented patronage within the short period of its introduction.

    The winning product is an international brand of MasterCard, which was launched a couple of months ago in partnership with MasterCard and Interswitch. The card is accepted worldwide as a means of payment for goods and services at over 30.9 million MasterCard locations and over 1.9million ATMs in more than 210 countries.

    With the Enterprise MasterCard Verve, transactions can also be consummated in the currency of the country as long as the card is linked to the customer’s Naira account. The successful roll-out exercise follows a strong bid by the bank to guarantee convenient banking services to its growing clientele.

    The Enterprise MasterCard Verve is available at all branches of Enterprise Bank for easy pick-up by customers with active accounts in the bank while those customers reactivating their accounts and the new ones have the card as part of their ‘Welcome Pack’.

    A statement from the Corporate Communication Department of the bank added that the process of collecting and benefiting from the convenience of the award winning card has also been simplified to ensure quicker delivery upon the completion of the relevant e-business form. In addition, all existing Verve Card holders, whose cards have expired, will automatically be migrated to MasterCard Verve as soon as they conclude the renewal process as demanded by the bank.

    While thanking the Institute for Government Research & Leadership Technology for the honour done to the bank and its product, the statement reiterated that upgrading to the Enterprise Master Card Verve is also part of the commitment by the bank to delight its customers with more value added service as well as ensure the success of the cash-less initiative in the country.

  • Annual profit hindered by tough regulations, says FBN

    CBN Holdings Plc (FBNH), owner of First Bank Nigeria, said its profit for 2013 will probably be the same as the previous year as tougher regulatory requirements increased its costs.

    A regulator-mandated rise in the interest rate paid on savings cost the bank 5 billion naira ($31.5 million) in the nine months through September, while a reduction in commission on sales led to a drop of about N10 billion, First Bank Nigeria Chief Executive Officer Bisi Onasanya told Bloomberg.

    A sale of about N150 billion in treasury bills, placed with the central bank at an interest rate of zero per cent, also hurt the lender’s income, he said.

    The increase in interest on savings “was something not budgeted for by the bank,” Onasanya said. “Barring any additional pronouncements by the government, we will be achieving our 2012 numbers.” FBN reported 2012 net income of N75.7 billion, more than triple the previous year.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) increased the cash-reserve requirement for federal, state and local government deposits to 50 percent from 12 per cent in July to reduce liquidity and support the naira. The regulator also told lenders to lower fees and commissions from April 2013 to prevent potential conflict with clients.

    FBN’s profit declined by eight per cent to N59.1 billion in the nine months through September from N64.3 billion in the previous year, as cost of funds increased to 3.2 per cent from 2.4 per cent, the lender said in a December 31 filing to the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

    The bank plans to increase its loan book by 10 percent to 15 per cent in 2014 from five per cent growth in the nine months through September to boost its income, Onasanya said. It’s also seeking an acquisition to expand into general insurance from life insurance, he said.

    First Bank “has many deals in the pipeline including the divestment of Shell and Chevron assets,” Onasanya said. Oil and gas explorers Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) and U.S.-based Chevron Corp. are selling onshore and shallow-water assets amid persistent unrest and crude-oil theft in the Niger River delta.

    Lenders in Africa’s second-biggest economy are returning to profitability after central bank Governor Lamido Sanusi approved a N620 billion- bank bailout in 2008 and 2009 as loans to equity speculators and fuel importers pushed the industry near collapse. The government then created the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria to buy lenders’ bad debts.

  • Access Bank divests from Cote d ’Ivoire’s subsidiary

    Access Bank Plc has sold its entire equity stake in its Cote d’Ivoire’s subsidiary.

    The board of directors of Access Bank in a notice to the investing public, made available by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) at the weekend, confirmed that the bank has completed the divestment from Access Bank Cote d’Ivoire.

    According to the bank, the divestment was concluded via a direct sale of the bank’s entire equity holding in the subsidiary to a preferred bidder, Afriland First Group SA.

    Afriland First Group SA is a full service financial services group based in the Republic of Cameroun with operations in Congo (DR), Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome & Principe and Zambia.

    “All conditions for the completion of the transaction have been achieved, including the receipt of regulatory approvals from both the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO),” Access Bank stated.

    The board noted that the impairments arising from the divestment have already been accounted for in the bank’s financials beginning from January 2013.

    As part of its continued growth strategy, Access Bank assured that it remained focused on mainstreaming sustainable business practices into its operations while striving to deliver sustainable economic growth that is profitable, environmentally responsible and socially relevant.

  • Banking growth may hit $168b, says KPMG

    Nigeria’s banking sector is expected to grow to over $168 billion by 2015, a KPMG report on the subsector has said.

    The sector was worth $117 billion as at 2011.

    The international auditing firm said in its Customer Service Survey for 2013, that while Nigeria may be Africa’s most populous country, only about 20 per cent of the population is banked and two-thirds have never banked at all before. It said the banking industry is made up of 20 banks with nearly 6,000 branches, most of which are concentrated in the urban areas.

    It said the sector has recently experienced a number of regulatory changes including a repeal of universal banking licences and the promulgation of more stringent regulations by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which is aiming to reduce soaring books of non-performing loans and stamp out severe breaches of corporate governance.

    “However, with the establishment of the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) to purchase toxic assets of banks and recapitalise troubled banks, some stability has returned to the sector.

    This development made the leading rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P), to upgrade the sector in 2012 to a positive outlook due to the country’s improved asset quality, capitalization and corporate governance,” it said.

    The report posted on the firm’s website said with Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) becoming almost ubiquitous in the cities, it is not surprising that it has been the fastest growing channel in recent years. “Almost eight in 10 customers surveyed use the ATM and nearly two thirds of these people visit an ATM on a weekly basis with cash withdrawal and balance enquiry amongst the most common transactions customers perform via the ATM,” it said.

    However, despite the proliferation of new channels in recent years, findings showed that adoption of other alternate channels is still comparatively low with very few respondents saying they use internet banking (seven per cent), Point of Sale (six per cent), telephone banking (five per cent) and mobile payments (two per cent). Of the respondents that had used internet banking, a third were private sector employees and 15 per cent were students.

    However, while customers said they would like to use some of these alternate channels for transactions such as bill payments and getting financial advice, uptake is still low with many consumers oblivious to the value proposition that these channels provide.

    “That being said, the significant and rapid adoption of the ATM suggests that – once internet banking and mobile payments take root – great potential could be realised,” it said.

    According to the firm, Nigeria’s banking industry has experienced an extensive and ongoing shift in confidence which, in turn, has impacted loyalty. “Customer awareness has increased, leading customers to demand higher levels of personalized services. Interestingly, while most customers expressed a willingness to continue with their bank, about half of those who would like to change their bank said they were remaining primarily because of their perception of the bank’s stability.

    This means that, as customer confidence in the banking industry begins to rise, there is likely to be an increase in customer switching rates and the associated costs of acquiring and retaining customers,” it said.