Financial Inclusion: MoneyMaster To Disrupt Payments, Remittances With 100,000 Agents

MoneyMaster PSB Limited, newly licenced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to drive financial inclusion and connect millions of the unbanked into the formal sector said it would disrupt digital payments and remittances with 100,000 agents in the country.

The service would facilitate payment and remittance services within Nigeria, accept deposits from individuals and small businesses, issue debit and prepaid cards, operate electronic wallets, inbound remittances and carry out other services in line with CBN regulations.

According to Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), there are a still about 59million unbanked Nigerian adults. To address this, the CBN had in 2012 drawn up the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) to ensure that over 80 per cent of the bankable adults in Nigeria have access to financial services by 2020.

On October 26, 2018, CBN issued the Guidelines for the Regulation and Operation of Payment Service Banks in Nigeria, which was revised on August 27, 2020. MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank Limited was registered on September 27, 2019, as a private limited liability company and licensed by the CBN in 2020 as a digital bank delivering financial inclusion services.

Recent data released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) revealed that Nigeria has about 133.5 million bank accounts as at December 2021. Only 54 million of thefigure has complete bank verification number (BVNs) registration as at April 10, 2022, thereby creating a yawning 79 million gap which are potentials for PSBs like MoneyMaster to bridge by bringing the unbanked and under-banked into the financial services ecosystem.

Speaking on the plans of the company, Head, Enterprise Business, Glo, Zakari Usman said, “Our over-arching business objective remains to empower Nigerians by providing them with unlimited opportunities. MoneyMaster extends that objective as it targets the unbanked and under-banked with G-Kala its flagship product in order to deepen financial inclusion in Nigeria.”

Similarly, in another presentation, head of product and marketing, Esaie Diei, said MoneyMaster PSB will leverage on Globacom’s nationwide coverage and extensive agents’ footprint in the rural and urban areas to achieve its planned massive roll-out. It added that all a customer needs to do to open an account is dial*995# and then follow the prompts from a Glo line or from any other telecommunications network as MoneyMaster PSB is network agnostic.

Glo said further that just like it revolutionized the telecom industry with latest technology and unique products when it rolled out 19 years ago, MoneyMaster PSB is poised to redefine the payment service banking landscape and deepen financial inclusion in Nigeria.

According to the mobile network operator, “One key feature of MoneyMaster’s G-kala product is that the customer’s phone number will be used as his or her account number,” the statement continued. “We are grateful to the CBN for the opportunity to deepen financial inclusion in Nigeria using our cutting-edge technology and vast network.”

Aligning with the CBN’s agenda, MoneyMaster PSB has outlined its plans for those outside the city centers by noting that it will be leveraging on Globacom’s pan-Nigerian spread and pervasive agents’ footprint in the rural and urban areas as it begins its massive roll-out.

It has also noted that it will take advantage of the power of innovative and cutting-edge technology which it is known for to boost adoption of its G-Kala flagship product which is network-agnostic and designed along the CBN’s tiered Know-Your-Customer requirements.