The dawn of the cashless policy ushered in by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2012 was a pivotal milestone, marked to reduce the vast volume of cash circulation. This revolutionary innovation was embraced by numerous Nigerians. In fact, according to recent findings by Odunayo Eweniyi, Nigeria tops the chart as Africa’s leading country with the highest numbers of internet users. Despite this promising digital landscape, the equation is not perfectly balanced. The massive population still floods bank halls to carry out transactions involving less than a hundred thousand Naira.
The silver lining is apparent though; mobile phones’ utilization for financial services in the country has seen a spectacular rise. Banks have now made accessible financial operations such as account inquiry and funds transfer affordable for customers. In a bid to cater to this shifting customer paradigm and behavior, Skye Bank took an innovative leap by launching the Omni-Channel banking solution.
Omni Channel, an Irish entity known as the trailblazer in providing technology solutions, supplies banking software to banks across the globe. Presently, they triumphantly serve over 100 banks spanning 60 countries, chief among them being Diamond, Standard Chartered, and Standard Bank.
The Chairman of Skye Bank Plc, Mr. Mohammed Ahmed, commended the bank’s initiative and held the new addition in high esteem, citing it as “a timely intervention in the banking industry and a modest contribution towards the economic development of Nigeria, particularly in the realm of financial technology and the digital revolution”. Mr. Mohammed reinforced that the bank’s adoption of the software aligns with the CBN’s 2020 payment vision. He optimistically predicted that “the app will lead to the enrolment of over two million banking customers in the next 17 months”.
Implementation of this software could prompt more customers to opt for e-banking, thereby reducing crowded banks and curbing excessive money circulation. A recent survey by KPMG revealed that merely 42% of bank users employ e-channels for transactions — a figure destined to change with the new developments.
In a note of affirmation, Skye Bank’s Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tokunbo Abiru, stated that this initiative showcased their unwavering commitment to continually improve customer service, saying “As a pledge of commitment to a new service charter with our customers, we have decided to render to you this digital banking solution, which we have called the sky experience denoting such positive values as the experience, excellence, excitement, and experiential.”
The Chief Information Officer of Skye Bank, Mr. Richard Amafonye, who shared the limelight on this occasion, noted that the development “is a response to shifts in customer behavior and preferences”. He attributed the success of this initiative to Skye Bank’s longstanding collaboration with IT Solution firm Oracle.
With this newfound momentum, Nigeria seems to be on the precipice of realizing the CBN’s vision of digitalizing payment systems by 2020.