Experts call for vast agent banking, others to boost financial inclusion at grassroots

Some financial experts have called for the engagement of vast agent banking and e-currency to improve financial inclusion and the grassroots.

They made the call during a panel discussion at the year’s Digital Pay Expo on Thursday in Lagos.

The year’s theme is: “Decentralise finance Africa, beyond the hype, understanding use cases for the continent”.

They told the panel that a decentralised finance system with less emphasis on consumers’ due diligence would strengthen financial inclusion.

Mr Abubakar Suleiman, Managing Sterling Bank Nigeria, said that the economic inclusion of people at the grassroots would lead to rapid financial inclusion in Nigeria.

He said when people were empowered economically, they would be encouraged to save.

kalifat Araoye, Managing Director, Lotus Bank, said a simplified documentary procedure would encourage virtual and remote account opening without any additional documentation requirements.

The Managing Director, 9 Payment Service Bank(9PSB), Branka Mracajac, said that Nigeria had a 65 per cent estimated informal sector size.

Mracajac said that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) contributed majorly to job creation and economic development in Nigeria and Africa at large.

She said that improving the financial ecosystem, digitalisation of financial services and good financial literacy among grassroots dwellers would bring rapid financial inclusion in Nigeria.

Mr Akinwale Goodluck, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, AfricaNenda, Kenya, said that interoperability among digital platforms remained the backbone of digital financial services.

He explained that the interoperability allowed two or more financial platforms to interact seamlessly.

“It will enable the easy exchange of payment transactions between service providers and the users wherever the location is either a rural or urban area,” he said.

He urged the regulators to come up with an operational model that would safely and reliably connect the stakeholders at reduced charges for the benefit of people in rural and remote areas. (NAN)