9PSB, Others Advocate Stakeholder Collaboration for Financial Inclusion

The 9 Payment Service Bank (9PSB), which is Nigeria’s Payment Service Bank (PSB), has reiterated the need for collaboration among operators, players and regulators in the financial services sector.

It said such collaboration remained critical to boosting Nigeria’s financial inclusion drive.

The digital bank made the assertion alongside other industry players in the financial services sector at the third edition of The Industry Summit sponsored by 9PSB. Speaking at the event themed, “Financial Inclusion, Digital Payment and the Challenges of Banking the Unbanked”, the Head, Products and Innovation, 9PSB, Akeem Salam, said for effective financial inclusion to happen, there must be a concerted effort by all stakeholders in the sector to work together to improve ease of access to financial services.

According to him, “though Nigeria is beginning to witness a noticeable effort in the drive to bring on-board everyone into the financial ecosystem, inclusion is still grossly low, with about 40 per cent of the population either excluded or under-served.”

According to Salam, “There is still so much to be done to close this gap and industry players need to find common ground to innovate and deploy strategies particularly around financial literacy and education. At 9PSB, we are committed to partnerships and collaborations that create value and ease for users.”

The Chief Executive Officer, Financial Training Institution

Centre, (FITC), Chizor Malize, while delivering the keynote speech, called on operators to pay close attention to creating financial solutions that meet the needs of the critical mass for which financial inclusion matters.

She said: “Financial inclusion is the ability to deliver financial services at a cost-effective rate to the unbanked and the underbanked.”