TAJ Bank, the second non-interest bank in Nigeria, has said it will leverage technology to deepen non-interest banking penetration in the country. The Bank, which commenced non-interest banking services in January this year, also promised to provide unparalleled financial services to its rapidly growing customers.
Founder/Chief Operating Officer of the bank, Mr. Hamid Joda, gave this assurance yesterday when a team of the bank’s management, led by the Managing Director, Mr. Norfadelizan Abdul Rahman, paid a courtesy visit to the management of Media Trust Limited, the publishers of Daily Trust, Kilmanjaro, Aminiya, Tambari, Teen Trust, among other titles. Joda said the decision to leverage information technology to drive penetration of non-interest banking and help thousands of Nigerians, particularly in the North East and North West have access to financial services, was part of the lender’s unique selling proposition it intends to use to add value to the nation’s financial inclusion drive. He said: “Non-interest banking is still in its infancy in Nigeria. Before we came, there was only one standalone non-interest bank in Nigeria. If you ask people what the concept is, the understanding is not really there. So, it needs a lot of publicity.
“On financial inclusion, it is one of the pillars of our banking strategy. If you look at studies especially by EFInA, the financial exclusion rate in the North West and North East hovers around north of 55 percent, or almost 60 percent which is very significant. This makes it difficult for the CBN to fully implement its monetary policy. This is why we said let’s make financial inclusion a part of our strategy”, the banker added.
He clarified further that the bank has introduced IT related tools to deal with penetration, saying that “we have agency market infrastructure which we are hoping to create about 4,000 agents around the North West and North East part of Nigeria. We believe that will go a long way in reducing the financial exclusion rate.”
He explained further that the bank is also introducing the “wallet” product that will work in such a way that your account number will be the same as your mobile telephone number.
According to him, this product “makes it easy for even not so literate customers to bank with us. With this we are leveraging on the high mobile phones’ users. We call it the ‘TAJ Oya Oya’ account so that it can resonate with the ordinary people.
“We also have the mobile banking app which you can download. With that you can open an account and do your transactions without coming to the bank” he said. Commenting, the MD/CEO of the bank Mr. Norfadelizan Abdul Rahman also told the Media Trust management that by the end of the year, the bank should have obtained a national banking license from the CBN as the process is ongoing.
“We opened our doors to business like two months ago. And we already have three branches and hoping to open more. We hope to have our national license by the end of this year. We are young but aspire to be big. We are open to opportunities” he stated.
In his remarks, the Chairman of Media Trust Limited, Mr. Mannir Dan Ali, who expressed the management’s appreciation to the team for the visit, told them Media Trust limited started very humbly some 23years ago but today has grown to become a leading player in the nation’s newspaper industry.
He attributed this feat to the board and management’s commitment to quality, innovation and people-oriented philosophy in all areas of its business operations over the years.
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