PAY ATTENTION ➔ Tolu Ogunlesi Reacts To Amaechi Leaked Audio Tape "Nigerian Crying Under Buhari"
In Brazil, the progress has been attributed to the expansion of the national correspondent banking networks, growth in microfinance and cooperatives as well as targeted conditional transfers to increase the income levels of the low-income workers under the BolsaFamília program. The correspondent banking model permits accessible retailers such as food vendors, gas stations and drug stores to act as intermediaries for basic financial transactions, thereby bridging the gap between formal and informal financial structures. The Brazilian government also promoted financial literacy and adapted regulation of financial services to the needs of the underserved low-income groups. In Chile, it was a sincere commitment to the Maya Declaration in 2011 – to which Nigeria is a signatory. The Chilean government introduced an electronic payment system for transfers of state benefits, launched an extensive financial education program for beneficiaries of state transfers and developed a complementary financial inclusion survey. A state bank, Banco Estado, was established with a defined financial inclusion strategy to drive efforts on achieving financial inclusion.
All that notwithstanding, some progress have been made by both policymakers and stakeholders to improve access to financial services in Nigeria. The Brazilian correspondent banking is similar to the Agent banking in its early stages in urban centres across the country; while the BolsaFamília is to the National Social Investment program (NSIP). More so, The CBN and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) signed a memorandum of understanding in other to facilitate mobile money operations on the premise that more adults in Nigeria owned phones than bank accounts. This initiative has given birth to a synergy between commercial banks and telecoms operators as well as enabling the development of financial technology (FinTech) operators such as Paga, Quickteller, Paydirect, Alert and eTransact. The collaborative effort between the CBN and the NIBSS to create a regulatory sandbox which allows FinTech start-ups to test solutions under controlled environment has enabled a start-hub conducive for creating sustainable businesses and expansion of the FinTech space to reach the last mile. The agent banking model that incorporates trading businesses as transactional outlets of banks and the most recent Payment Service Banks which is a model of the Non-Bank led financial inclusion strategy is also the efforts to serve the unbanked.