Clickatell Offers Greater
Mobility to Nigeria’s
Unbanked
Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), one of Nigeria’s foremost
financial institutions has partnered with Clickatell to offer
virtual airtime top up (VTU) – a value-added service that taps
into the country’s drive for a cash-less society.
Nigeria is Embracing a Cashless Society
High on Nigeria’s financial inclusion agenda is the move
towards a cashless society, because according to the CBN, the
cost of cash and associated risk of a cash-driven economy to
Nigeria’s financial system is high and increasing.
This cashless policy is designed to promote:
• Financial intermediation, financial inclusion
• Minimise revenue leakages
• Create internally generated revenue and reduce incidences
of robbery
Despite the high unbanked population, the popularity of
mobile feature phones is increasing at a considerable rate,
with pre-paid services the order of the day.
GTBank and Clickatell are Revolutionising Banking
with VTU
Leading the way is GTBank who, through Clickatell, now
offers VTU via their Mobile Money, Mobile Banking and
Internet Banking services. Pre-paid Airtime is a cornerstone
of any mobile solution and is seen as a critical success factor
to mobile banking and mobile money’s success in Nigeria.
VTU is a convenient service for clients wishing to purchase
airtime anytime, day or night, for themselves or others. VTU
also attracts all promotional discounts offered by the Mobile
Networks to the consumers. In the next exciting phase of the
partnership, GTBank, in collaboration with Clickatell, will
offer an even broader array of VTU prepaid products including
Pre-paid data, Pre-paid fixed lines and Pre-paid BlackBerry
bundles. To see GTBanks’s current offering link.
By offering GTBank customers access to VTU, Clickatell
operates as the bridge between the bank and the consumer
enabling them to access banking services in a virtual space
that is secure and easily accessible anywhere, anytime. This is
particularly vital in a country where the threat of robbery is
incredibly high near ATMs and bank branches.
Samson Isa – Director of Clickatell West Africa says, “I think
VTU will be a great mobile prepaid product distribution
technology that will revolutionise the telecoms distribution
space because of its ease of usage, security and availability.”
Isa continues, “GTBank’s approach is revolutionary in the
Nigerian market, as they utilise user-friendly apps to drive
mobile banking. H [