In line with its strategy of expanding retail banking services, Fidelity Bank Plc has announced a partnership with a global international fund transfer company, Ria Money Transfer, to boost international electronic money transfer and also promote the financial inclusion drive.
The Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, who disclosed this in Lagos, said the bank was committed to bringing banking services closer to the unbanked populace.
According to Okonkwo, “Ria money transfer offers services that are in line with our retail banking strategy of expanding the net and increasing financial inclusion.”
Okonkwo noted that the unbanked percentage of the country was still high and there was need for the bank to continue to pursue the CBN’s drive to reduce the number.
“The number of people that are excluded from the financial system is huge compared with the included and the Central Bank of Nigeria has been driving a programme of financial inclusion,” he noted.
“Fidelity bank bought into that and this is just one of the ways which financial services can reach more people in the rural and urban areas,” he added.
The Business Development Director, Ria Money, Mr. Manuel Villena, said the mission of the company was to promote business growth especially as it concerns the African market.
He identified some of its services to include bank to bank transfer, cash pick up from bank’s branches among others.
The Executive Director, Lagos and South West of the bank, Mr. Ikemefuna Mbagwu, while explaining how the product would be deployed, said, “We would basically employ technology, what we would do is that, we would integrate the systems at the money transfer companies with our own systems.
“This money transfer product is such that anybody who wishes to transfer money from the Diaspora to Nigeria can do it directly through Fidelity account.”
He added that the bank would create an interface through which money could be directly transferred to a Fidelity account for onward transfer to the beneficiary.
The executive director assured that the bank’s ISO certification, transactions were secured.
