Access Bank Deepening Financial Access to Nigerians Through CLOSA Agents

BY JOHNMARK UKOKO

One of the country’s leading financial institutions, Access Bank Plc, has said its agency banking codenamed: CLOSA, which allows account holders to transact from any online platform outside the bank branches, is deepening financial inclusion in the country.

The bank explained that the initiative was designed to ensure that all Nigerians and businesses access useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs, including transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance delivered in a responsible and sustainable way through the agents spread across the country.

This policy initiative is in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy of ensuring the availability of affordable financial products and services to all individuals and groups in the country, irrespective of location, literacy level, familiarity with technology and accessibility to modern infrastructure facilities.

Head of Agency Banking at Access Bank, Michael Ogbaa, while introducing the bank’s Omni-channel agency banking application at the bank’s agency banking forum in Lagos, said there were only 307,000 Point of Sale (PoS) terminals in Nigeria as of July 2019, of which only 167,000 were active.

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He also disclosed that there were less than 7,000 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in the country, adding that these channels are grossly inadequate for a country with over 99 million adult’s populations.

“This is the reason agency banking has become not only important but inevitable in achieving the Federal Government’s financial inclusion strategy, the Omni- Channel agency banking application which customers can access via mobile application web PoS and United States dollar.

“It promises to redefine the way clients have been doing before now. Access Bank has over 6.5 million mobile Apps, over 7.1 million cards, over 600 branches, 3,134 ATMs, 26,065 Point of Sales (PoS), Ogbaa stated.

He listed the challenges of agents to include; charges, settlement and reconciliation issues, restrictive agency banking application and the platform inadequate PoS terminals and support among others, which are being addressed with the launch of the new App as well as the multi-channel application.

“The new agency banking solution is a robust application that can now offer all the services you have been waiting for. We are also dedicating exclusive staff for PoS support settlement, reconciliation and issues resolution at our contract centers.”