Lagos, August 4, 2016
Interswitch honours FirstBank for Sustaining 100 Million Monthly Transactions
… FirstBank is first financial institution in Nigeria to achieve and sustain this feat
First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s Most Valuable Bank Brand, has been recognised by Interswitch Group, Africa’s leading integrated payment and transaction processing company, as the first financial institution in the country to achieve sustained transaction volumes of 100 million transactions, first in December 2015 and again in May 2016. This re-enactment consolidates FirstBank’s position as an industry leader in electronic transactions.
The record transaction volumes represent the total transactions processed by FirstBank’s Front End Processor running on the Interswitch transaction switching platform which seamlessly links all financial institutions in Nigeria to facilitate better and quicker transactions across all platforms. As Nigeria’s leading financial institution with over 12 million customers’ accounts, this achievement by FirstBank clearly aligns with its strategic intent to promote financial inclusion, support the cashless policy drive of the Central Bank of Nigeria and boost economic growth via e-payments across Nigeria and the African continent.
According to the Bank’s Group Head, e-business, Chuma Ezirim, FirstBank remains committed to lead the drive to move the Nigerian economy away from traditional cash and other generic payment means to modern technological varieties in e-Payment.
Reacting to the development, Divisional CEO, Switching and Processing, Interswitch, Akeem Lawal commented, “It really says something about the strength and development of electronic transactions in Nigeria that a single banking partner can record 100 million transactions in a single month. When you add this figure to that of our other partners, then you can begin to have an idea of the sheer size and demand for electronic financial services in Nigeria.”
Also speaking, the MD/CEO of FirstBank, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, noted that the bank will continue to employ novel approaches in providing secure and convenient banking services to its customers and promised to drive innovation and extend its leadership of the financial sector services with specialized and technology-driven products and services. “FirstBank’s investment in e-business reflects our commitment to promoting financial inclusion which is widely regarded as a lever for sustainable economic growth and development as well as enhancing entrepreneurship. Our passion to serve and extend financial services to the unbanked has since inspired several innovations and we thank our esteemed customers for their continued patronage and trust in our services whilst dedicating the recognition to them”.
It will be recalled that FirstBank in 2012 also received a Milestone Achievement Award as the first bank to hit a 5 million mark of Verve card issuance to its customers. Also, recently FirstBank clinched the Best Mobile Payment Product, Credit Card of the Year for West Africa and Best Retail Bank in Nigeria awards in The Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards.
About FirstBank
First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is Nigeria’s premier and most valuable banking brand, and largest financial services institution by total assets and gross earnings. With more than 12 million customer accounts, FirstBank has over 750 branches providing a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services. The Bank has international presence through its subsidiaries, FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal, as well as its Representative Offices in Johannesburg, Beijing and Abu Dhabi.
Since its establishment in 1894, FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimized risk management and leadership. Over the years, the Bank has led the financing of private investment in infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the Federal Government’s privatisation and commercialisation schemes. With its global reach, FirstBank provides prospective investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities that are available in Nigeria, an internationally competitive world-class brand and a credible financial partner.
FirstBank has been named “Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria” five times in a row – 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 – by the globally renowned “The Banker Magazine” of the Financial Times Group; and “Most Innovative Bank in Africa” in the EMEA Finance African Banking Awards 2014. Recently, for the fifth consecutive time, the Bank clinched the “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” award by The Asian Banker. Our brand purpose is to always put customers, partners and stakeholders at the heart of our business, even as we standardise customer experience and excellence in financial solutions across sub-Saharan Africa, in consonance with our brand vision “To be the partner of first choice in building your future”. Our brand promise is to always deliver the ultimate “gold standard” of value and excellence. This commitment is anchored on our inherent values of passion, partnership and people, to position You First in every respect.
Signed
Folake Ani-Mumuney
Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications
