9Mobile beats other telcos to digital banking race with 9PSB launch

Following the approval of three Payment Service Bank (PSB) licences by the Central Bank of Nigeria in August 2020, 9Mobile has become the first telecommunication company in Nigeria to deploy its digital banking services across the country.

The telco unveiled 9PSB firm on Tuesday as a digital lifestyle bank that will leverage on its existing mobile and digital channels, to offer a first of its kind wide network of agents as well as web and digital applications and physical structures to provide financial consumers with an experience novel to the Nigerian populace.

The newly appointed CEO of 9PSB, Branka Mracajac said that one important strategy that 9PSB is bringing to the table is to create synergies between agent banking as an important driver of financial inclusion and a superior product mix.

“9PSB will deploy a wide distribution network that will serve as a channel for financial education for rural and lowincome consumers,” Branka said. “This will enable them to conduct basic banking services like cash-in and cash-out transactions.”

The coming of 9PSB ushers in a long-anticipated era of mobile network operators (MNOS) in financial services. For many years, experts have canvassed for their involvement in the sector which they say will be critical to improving Nigeria’s financial inclusion fortunes. About 40 percent of Nigeria’s adult population (about 59 million) is still financially excluded. Telcos are believed to possess the infrastructure by virtue of the increased mobile penetration across the country.

The number of mobile subscriptions in Nigeria reached over 205 million as of September according to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). This is spread across the 36 states in the country. Unlike banks which have few structures to support banking services outside the big cities, MNOS have managed to put up infrastructure across the country. Financial experts have argued that the CBN should look to leverage this massive capacity to reach the unbanked populations in Nigeria’s inner-cities.

After many years of dilly-dallying, the CBN finally came around to the idea in 2018 with a draft guideline for PSBS and promised it will issue license approval in no distant time. Following the apex bank’s positive disposition, about 30 companies submitted applications for PSB licences. In 2019, three Approval-in-principle were granted to Hope PSB a subsidiary of Unified Payment (UP); Money Master subsidiary of Globacom, and 9PSB by 9Mobile.

A PSB license allows the companies to among other things; maintain savings accounts and accept deposits from individuals and small businesses, which is covered by the deposit insurance scheme; carry out payments and remittance ( including cross-border personal remittance) services through various channels within Nigeria; issue debit and prepaid cards, and operate an electronic purse or wallet.

Experts who spoke at a panel discussion at the launch of 9PSB agreed that the new service will go a long way to bolster financial literacy and inclusion in rural and urban areas of Nigeria.

“Financial innovation plays a unique role in fostering sustainable and equitable growth primarily among the unbanked and underbanked within the rural areas in Nigeria, and I am very optimistic that 9PSB will drive financial innovation, especially among the youth and women across Nigeria. This is our goal at 9PSB. It is also why we are here. It is the difference we are committed to making in the Nigerian financial sector,” Branka said.