Poor network, inconsistent biometric-enabled Point of Sale (POS) and tedious account opening processes, among others, have been identified as factors responsible for the low patronage of agent banking scheme, a recent interactions with operators have shown.
Also, lack of public enlightenment campaign is believed to be making the scheme to be struggling to make its mark in the financial services space, as it battles to boost banks’ financial status as a result of insufficient information available to its target customers. Since the introduction of agency banking by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in line with the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, to boost savings, the operators have been faced with a couple of challenges ranging from poor network, inconsistent biometric-enabled Point of Sale (POS) and tedious account opening process. Most especially, the low patronage experienced by some of the agents is mainly due to lack of potential clients’ education.
The CBN and the commercial banks may not have been doing enough on their parts to achieve the promotion of financial inclusion in Nigeria and sustaining the country’s development. This, the operators target to reduce the number of adult Nigerians excluded from the formal financial services from 46.3 percent in 2012 to 20 percent in 2020. This can easily be done through agent banking with specific targets for payments, savings, credit and insurance.