Access Bank Disburses N740bn Digital Loans In 6 Years

Access Bank has granted 18 million digital loans worth N740 billion, where customers can access up to N10 million instantly in the last six years.

This is as the bank restated its commitment towards financial inclusion and meeting the needs of its retail customers by revamping its digital loan platform ‘Quickbucks’ to boost lending.

The bank stated this in its media roundtable/interview held yesterday in Lagos. The Group head, Consumer Banking of Access Bank, Njideka Esomeju said, “many Nigerians are facing financial challenges due to the economic situation in the country. At Access Bank, our goal is to enable every Nigerian to achieve financial freedom, which is why we introduced digital lending solutions.

“Since 2017, when we issued our first digital PayDay loan, we have granted 18 million digital loans worth over N740 billion, where customers can access up to N10 million instantly.”

She added that “customers can access our digital loans for businesses, vehicle financing, school fees payment, among others. QuickBucks Loans allow our customers to get that assistance fast and easily.”
Esomeju stated that QuickBucks Loans will launch a new version of the platform, with features like improved credit scoring algorithms; more loan options, including a digital asset and vehicle financing digital loans; and strategic partnerships to improve its services and satisfy changing customer needs.

She also noted that “at first, our digital loans were only for salary earners who had to pay back in 30 days, but now we have QuickBucks Loans with up to 12 months of repayment time for customers who have salary accounts with us or other banks, self-employed and active account holders, and also our business account and trader account holders.”

The unit head, digital lending of Access Bank, Efe Obaigbena noted that, “QuickBucks Loans are designed to meet our customers’ urgent financial needs. Since its launch in 2017, QuickBucks Loans have improved significantly, and as a responsible lender, we make sure that our customers do not get into debt trouble, which is why we cap our loans at a certain percentage of salary or account transactions. Customers must also have good credit records across all financial institutions to be eligible for our loans.”
Obaigbena added that, “QuickBucks Loans are designed to be easy to access, where customers who have low literacy can get our digital loans through USSD, helping them join the financial system by offering them digital loans even if they have different levels of financial knowledge.”

Also, the team lead, digital lending of Access Bank, Mr. Oladisun Dawodu explained that Access Bank has always adopted the FinTech culture as a way to stand out in the market, saying, “the Bank foresees future developments in FinTech such as AI-based lending solutions, blockchain technology for safe transactions, and closer integration with financial ecosystems.

“Access Bank has prepared QuickBucks Loans to respond to these developments by putting money into technology improvements and strategic actions to keep its competitive advantage in the market.”