The Group Chief
Executive Officer of the Guaranty Trust Bank GTBank) Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje has
said the bank is committed to building a strong robust banking platform to
drive financial services and accommodate the effects of disruptive technology
in Nigeria. Agbaje said this at the 2019 edition of the Social Media Week in
Lagos recently.
Speaking at the event with a theme: “Building the Bank of the
Future”, Agbaje said that digital technology through the fourth industrial
revolution has disrupted different economic sectors ranging from retail trade
to healthcare.
He said that the economic outlook for Nigeria in the area of banking still
leaves room for improvement as not all citizens are financially included. He
therefore, called for a level playing ground between banks and
telecommunication companies for more Nigerians to enjoy financial services.
According to him, “People need banking and not banks and financial institutions
that operate in the traditional mode, current paradigms will not last for too
long. That is why we are building single trusted integrated platform in the
financial services industry in Nigeria.”
He said: “I am always very optimistic about Nigeria. I am not
one of those who are worried about elections. The outlook for the Nigerian
banking industry is always going to be up, until we reach a mature stage. We
are only banking 33/34 million people in a country that has about 190 million
people. It is by no means mature. So there is still a lot of upside. This was
why GTBank evolved a leading innovation and disruption platform in the
financial services market space through products like the USSD (737), Quick
Credit for customers, GTWorld, GTMobile and a few others.
On the recent decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria to create
“Payment Service Banks” Agbaje called for a level playing field for different
operators from the telcos.
“We welcome competition. The only thing we ask is that, there be
a level playing ground between the banks and the telcos.”
The chief executive also gave further explanation on the
recently launched “Habari App” which provides unique services to customers,
from their play experience, to messaging, e-commerce and payments. “Habari App
provides a platform and infrastructure for them to reach out to multiple
customers at the same time.
GTBank’s CEO reaffirmed the commitment of the bank to increase coverage of communities while servicing 15 million existing customers.
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