The Ecobank Nigeria has introduced its RapidTransfer mobile remittance platform as part of its effort to drive digital banking in the country. Patrick Akinwuntan, managing director, Ecobank Nigeria, said the platform would reduce the cost of sending funds digitally.

Akinwuntan disclosed this at a dinner in Lagos to celebrate outgoing members of the Ecobank Nigeria Board as well as to welcome newly appointed directors. He said historically, the cost for Nigerians in the Diaspora to send funds home used to be far too high, while the process itself has long been inefficient and burdensome.

“Customers often have to physically visit an agent and yet are left with little or no clarity as to when the funds will actually reach the intended recipient.”

He said that RapidTransfer removes all of such issues, adding that affordability would be game changers in the way Nigerians send money to their loved ones.

Akinwuntan outlined his vision for driving the bank going forward and assured board members of his ambitions for growth. He noted that the bank would remain the jewel in the Ecobank Group as well as the affiliate that sets the roadmap for others to follow.

He explained that the bank would set the roadmap by providing customer service excellence, a suite of innovative and convenient banking services that makes banking easy for retail and corporate customers alike. “RapidTransfer is a safe and secure low-cost remittance solution, which ultimately will put more money into the hands of the recipient. This will have a multiplier effect on the Nigerian economy by boosting demand and driving business growth.

“Nigeria has a vibrant population of 180 million and I want a large share of these to be served by Ecobank. Therefore, I am setting an audacious customer growth target against the group goal to serve 100 million customers by 2020.

“We currently have nine million customers in Nigeria and I want to grow this to 40 million customers within two and a half years. This may be a huge challenge but I resolutely believe that it is one that can be achieved. The Ecobank Rapidtransfer mobile app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play,” he said.

– Nov. 2, 2018 @ 14:35 GMT |