AppZone Lists Limitations to Financial Services, Proffers Solution

AppZone, provider of homegrown banking and payment software solutions, has identified some of the limitations to financial service offerings and has proffered technology solutions to address them.

Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos recently, the Managing Director of the company, Mr. Obi Emetarom listed some of the limitations to include issues with suitability, accessibility, high cost of operations and physical constraints, among others.

According to him, there are several financial products that do not address the real needs of customers and some of the financial products and services are not easily accessible because they are not available everywhere at all times.

Emetarom explained that the impact of such limitations on customers has led to the high rate of unbanked and underbanked customers in the society, which he said, is equally affecting the economy of the country, through loss of revenue that is supposed to be generated for government.

To address the situation, Emetarom said AppZone has developed several banking and payment software solutions that are currently servicing 15 commercial banks, over 180 microfinance banks, with over 80, 000 transactions daily.

Some of its core value offerings include disruptive innovation, agile technology and best practice.

According to Emetarom, the disruptive innovation solutions, eliminate barriers to adopt and create customer group, offer significant differential value to target customers, leverage most recent technology operations and regulations, and focus on solving problems core target customers.

The agile technology quickly and easily adapts to client needs, enables clients achieve incremental innovation, with AppZone investing heavily on research and development to achieve agility. Some of its best practice include setting up of dedicated operational function, complete standardisation and documentation, and define procedures for monitoring compliance.

Some of its products that are developed locally by Nigerians, include cloud based core banking application, mobile banking solution, branchless banking solution, financial transaction switch, consolidated internet payment gateway, prepaid card management, instant automated card issuance, ATM monitoring solution, among others.

Explaining the functionality of some of the solutions, Emetarom said the cloud based core banking application provides end-to-end automation of typical operation in retail financial institutions, including microfinance banks, savings and loans institutions, cooperatives, and mortgage banks. He described the mobile banking solution as a dynamic menu-based client application that backs end processing and administration system and allows customers remotely complete self-service banking and payment transactions, using multiple application delivery options. He said the branchless banking solution is product specific that is delivered as cloud-based shared platform with account opening and mobile teller capabilities as well as option for mobile instant card issuance. The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), manager of the .ng domain name, which is Nigeria’s country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) name, has reiterated its commitment to populate the country’s domain name.

President of NIRA, Mrs. Mary Uduma, who stated this at a media training on .ng domain name, organised NIRA, encouraged Nigerians to register their businesses with .ng domain name, which is Nigeria’s identity in the cyberspace, as against registering with foreign domain names like .za of South Africa, .ca of Canada, .co.uk of United Kingdom and .us of America, among others.

The essence, according to her, is to populate Nigeria’s domain name and to retain internet traffic that are generated within Nigeria in the country.

She said Nigeria presently has about 60,000 domain names