FirstBank Records 45% of Bills Payment Services on ATM
Nume Ekeghe
First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings presently accounts for 45 percent of bills payment services on ATM in the nation’s banking industry as at December 2015.
As at December 2015, about 275,000 bill payments were made through the bank’s ATMs while the value of airtime purchase on all its ATMs was about N3 billion. The bills payment option is one of the features of FirstBank’s ATMs, which also have other functional features, which include cash transfer, air-time top-up, cash deposit among others.
A statement by the bank’s Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Folake Ani-Mumuney said the bank enabled its ATM machines to reach out to more customers which is in line with its strategy to drive ease of service in banking. FirstBank is presently leading in the industry as the bank with the highest number of ATMs with about 2,700 ATMs deployed across the country, making it the nation’s financial institution with the widest retail footprint.
The statement said the bank is also currently responsible for over 40percent of interbank transactions and 27 percent of airtime vending.
’’As active mobile network users in Nigeria are over 151 million and the need to recharge is on the increase, the bank’s ATMs also provide the platform for easy top-up.
To further enhance convenience, FirstBank’s ATMs also operate the cash deposit function, which allows customers to deposit funds without customarily having to enter a banking hall for this transaction. This is a direct testament to its value proposition of putting customers first.
Ani-Mumuney, said this distinct development was achieved as a result of the bank’s desire to reach out to more people in the country and as part of living true to putting customers at the heart of our business. “FirstBank is positioned to meet the needs of its customers and to reach out to the under banked and unbanked. Our mission is to make banking as convenient for our customers as is obtainable globally”, she said.
She said that to aid the use of its ATMs nationwide and for enhanced protection of customers’ funds, the bank has, in particular, designed innovative and tailored-made financial services products to ease banking transactions.
She added: ‘’A major product is the FirstBank Verve Debit card, a Naira denominated domestic payment card accepted for payment throughout Nigeria on all electronic channels, including the ATMs.
One of the outstanding and unique features of our debit card products is that it is issued in 15 minutes at FirstBank branches. This distinctive feature stands the product out as it saves time and is very easy to obtain. Also, the card, which is accepted nationwide, aside withdrawing of cash, can be used to access value added services including bills payment, airtime recharge, flight and hotel booking among others.
The card is Chip & PIN secured for greater protection of customers’ funds, provides extra protection for web based transactions with “Safetoken”, is Naira denominated, and personalized, bearing the customer’s name. It is accepted wherever the Interswitch or Verve logo is displayed and can also be used to perform transactions via the Quickteller services menu on FirstBank ATMs.
The bank also has a Naira denominated international Debit card issued in partnership with MasterCard Worldwide, a card which enables transactions all over the world wherever the MasterCard logo is displayed. The card is accepted worldwide at over
29.4 million merchant locations and can be used for transactions over the WEB or POS as well as cash withdrawals at over 1.8 million ATMs, in over 210 countries. The card is also secured by Chip & PIN technology and is issued within 15 minutes at FirstBank branches.
The bank has a VISA Naira Credit Card designed for customers who operate salary accounts within the bank. The card is accepted worldwide for cash withdrawals and purchases on ATMs and POS terminals, and for e-commerce on the Internet done either on desktop computers or mobile devices. The card allows customers a 45-day interest-free period on spent funds and settlement is done in Naira.’’
