Glo, telecommunications operator in Nigeria, has announced plans to engage over 100,000 agents across Nigeria to deepen financial inclusion through its Moneymaster Payment Service Bank (PSB). Glo’s Moneymaster will be leveraging mobile phones, PoS, and the web to provide financial services to millions of Nigerians that are out of the financial system.
Moneymaster’s launch completes the entry of all mobile network operators in Nigeria into the financial services business through their subsidiaries. Nairametrics recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had in 2020 given Globacom’s Moneymaster the final approval to operate as a PSB alongside 9PSB and Hope PSB. Subsequent approvals later this year saw MTN MoMo and Airtel Smartcash getting the same license.
While noting that close to 50% of Nigerians do not currently have access to banking services, Glo said the PSB is geared towards a 95% financial inclusion target by 2024 set by the CBN.
Speaking at the unveiling of the business at an event tagged ‘Pushing the Frontiers’, Globacom’s Head of Enterprise Business, Zakari Usman, said: “We all know the financial inclusion challenges Nigeria is facing. As we speak right now, the inclusion rate is around 50%, which means that close to 49.5% of adult populations don’t have formal banking services, and to compound the matter, 82% of Nigerians are currently receiving income their income in cash.
“This is why the CBN came up with the concept of a payment service bank in order to help achieve financial inclusion. So, as Moneymaster, what we are bringing to the market is a simple solution, ‘G-Kala’, which turns your phone into your wallet. With the ‘G-Kala’, you can receive cash from any mobile app, you can move money to other accounts.”
“We are going to build a well-spread agent network across Nigeria with over 100,000 agents. We are also going to deploy kiosks across the country. As we speak now, thousands of kiosks are ready to be deployed. Our agents stand a chance to get additional revenue as they get SIM activation, registration incentive, and transaction incentive.
“Money master will disrupt the market will disrupt and revolutionize the financial industry in the same way that Globacom revolutionized the telecom industry with cutting edge technology and unique products when we started operation in the year 2003,” he added.
