By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Financial inclusion in Nigeria rose from 56.8 per cent in 2016 to 63.2 per cent in 2018, and has been rising in the past three years, with First Bank’s USSD service playing a key role.
Users of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) form 40.66 per cent of the bank’s total 30 million customers served across all platforms through more than 750 business locations and more than 100,000 Banking Agents nationwide.
First Bank grew USSD banking customer base by 1,025,889 by June to a total 12.267 million in half year 2021 (H1 2021), up from 9.5 million in 2020, reflecting the trust the general public and customers have both in the bank itself and in itsdigital banking platform.
99m monthly transactions worth N370m
The *894# feature averages about 99 million transactions worth N370.543 million monthly, according to a document from First Bank published by Nairametrics.
This figure includes, among others,
· The undergraduate doing a mobile airtime recharge
· The trader receiving a mobile payment from a customer
· The IT person hurriedly buying a data bundle to keep business afloat
· The anxious father paying his daughter’s hospital bills
· The busy worker in Lagos transferring money to his parents in the village
According to First Bank, this is just a rough sample of the financial transactions that amounted to more than N3.6 trillion on the *894# feature in 2020.
Rapid expansion of USSD
There is no financial emergency USSD cannot handle, and the problems that First Bank’s *894# USSD service is solving is the only justification for the rapid traction it has gained since it was introduced in 2015.
Nigerians have trust and confidence in the USSD system, with FBN rapidly growing from 9.5 million customers on the USSD feature to 12.26 million customers in the past year.
Over 1.02 million of them are its customers who registered in the first six months of 2021 (H1 2021).
The first and perhaps the most attractive feature of USSD banking is that it can be done from any kind of phone and without internet connectivity.
Although smartphones are getting more common, there is still a high poverty rate and many financially vulnerable people who cannot access internet banking.
Internet penetration in Nigeria is still below the ideal, so users have to deal with poor internet connections in some areas.
That is why this kind of banking service that can be accessed without internet connectivity is ideal for the financial inclusion drive.
Features of *894# USSD
The *894# USSD feature can be used across the four major telecom operators in Nigeria – MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9Mobile – meaning that there is no added demand on users.
To get started on the service,
· Dial *894*0# and creating a pin. Then you can
· Do airtime and data purchase for yourself and others
· Transfer funds to other accounts
· Make Bank Verification Number (BVN) enquiry
· Check your account balance
· Get a mini statement
Non-customers can open a bank account in a couple of minutes without having to visit the banking hall. You can open a bank account, receive your account number immediately, and start transactions on it right away.
The claims of “instant banking, anytime, anywhere” can’t get more real than this.
There is even an added security step, requesting a second-factor authentication (2FA) for transfers above N20,000 to secure customers from being ripped off their funds.
There is a cumulative maximum daily transfer limit of N100,000 to both FirstBank and other banks’ accounts.
How FBN USSD improves lives
Data generated through this service helps the bank understand current and prospective customers and develop products that suit them.
Traders and small businesses can also get a Merchant ID which customers can use to make payments for products and services.
This is better than having to send one’s account details to countless customers, even without knowing whether or not they are ready to make their purchase.
There is also a loan feature where salary earners can request a First Advance loan using the *894# USSD service to access cash if an emergency need arises before salary is paid.
There is something about USSD banking and the distinct advantage it offers when unforeseen emergencies arise, and they do arise more often than expected.