Union Bank to expand agency banking to underserved areas

Union Bank has intensified its effort to bring banking closer to its customers and the underserved Nigerians as well as simultaneously assist the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) achieve its 80% financial inclusion across the country.

As the apex bank is looking for more ways to deepen financial services in Nigeria, Union Bank is driving the effort with its USSD codes, UnionMobile and UnionOnline platforms that have transformed banking into a 24-hour and seven days a week service.

National Daily gathered that the bank is also deploying bank agents across the country to enable communities that are not served by any bank in Nigeria deposit funds easily. The rural areas have been left out of banking services, and Union Bank is strategising to ensure the void is filled.

Nigerians are constantly in search of ways to cut the cost of living which has increased in recent years, and in order to help its customers, Union Bank is stationing its Agency Banking closer to homes in the rural and urban communities.

This will reduce the need for customers and other underbanked Nigerians to visit bank halls to make a deposit or interbank transactions. So rather than station their bank in locations that increase the cost of living, Union Bank said it would wind down some branches to move closer to Nigerians to deepen financial inclusion.

“These more convenient banking channels will result in decreased dependence on some of our physical bank branches. In line with this, we have received regulatory approvals to close down some of our branches as we continue to expand our digital,” the bank said.

The bank, which was established in 1917, has continued to transform its operating model to meet the behavioural pattern of its customers and financial activities of Nigerians.

Why this matters: The incorporation of Agency Banking will create employment opportunities for Nigerians and cut the unemployment rate in the country.

The Bank currently offers a variety of banking services to both individual and corporate clients including current, savings and deposit account services, funds transfer, foreign currency domiciliation, loans, overdrafts, equipment leasing and trade finance.

The bank also offers its customers convenient electronic banking channels and products including Online Banking, Mobile Banking, Debit Cards, ATMs and POS Systems.