04 March 2016, Lagos — Efforts to enhance financial inclusion in the country have been enhanced after the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, granted an Approval-in-Principle to Interswitch Financial Inclusion Services, IFIS.
This boosts IFIS’ mandate to grow an active agent network of 150 000 by 2020.
IFIS aims to increase the availability of digital financial services in financially-excluded locations in Nigeria from 44 percent to over 70 percent in five years.
Divisional Chief Executive Officer, IFIS, Mike Ogbalu, confirmed the approval by the apex bank.
“We are very happy to confirm that CBN has granted the required authorization for us to operate as a Super Agent. This is an ambitious undertaking and with Quickteller Paypoint, we seek to become the largest and most used agent network in Nigeria by YE (year-end) 2016,” he said.
“This is the beginning of what promises to be a new chapter in Nigerian financial services and our national development as a whole new frontier of commercial activities will be opened up through Quickteller Paypoint.”
The nod from the apex bank is expected to signal new levels of collaboration amongst Nigerian Banks, other financial and non-financial institutions to leverage the reach and product innovation offered by the Quickteller Paypoint network.
IFIS is a subsidiary of Interswitch, an integrated payments and transaction switching business focused on providing products and services that are highly tailored to the continent.
*Okoro Chinedu – CajnewsAfrica