FOREMOST commercial bank, First Bank of Nigeria Limited has announced that its agent banking network, Firstmonie Agents, spread across the country, has collectively processed transaction volume in excess of 1 billion, amounting to over N22 trillion.
According to the over 100 years financial institution, with over 180,000 Firstmonie Agents, spread across 772 of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria, the network have been integral to bringing financial services closer to the underbanked and unbanked segment of 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, personalised services.
Amongst the services provided by the Firstmonie Agents include: Account Opening, Cash Deposit, Airtime Purchase, Bills Payment, Withdrawals and Money Transfer.
Expressing appreciation to the agents, the Chief Executive Officer, FirstBank, Adesola Adeduntan, 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”, he added.
Through various empowerment and reward schemes implemented to put its Firstmonie Agents at an advantage to economically impact their immediate communities whilst importantly having their business sustained, the Bank’s Agent Banking scheme has remained a toast to Nigerians, irrespective of where they are in the country.
Amongst these schemes is the Agent Credit – launched in 2020 – which has had the Bank provide credit facilities to the tune of 238 billion naira to its teeming Firstmonie Agents.
