By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Stanbic IBTC Bank has once again solidified its status as the leading financial institution by topping the Retail Banking and SME Banking categories in the recently concluded 2024 KPMG West Africa Banking Industry Customer Experience Survey.

In the report, the subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings scored 75.5 per cent in the Retail Banking category to lead the sector for the fourth consecutive year and topped the SME Banking segment for the second consecutive year after polling 77.3 per cent.

“We are honoured to be recognised as Nigeria’s top Retail and SME bank for four and two consecutive years respectively. This achievement reflects our commitment to innovation, customer-centricity, and excellence.

“We will continue to raise the bar in providing financial services that empower individuals and businesses across Nigeria,” the chief executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Wole Adeniyi, said.

Stanbic IBTC Bank’s retail banking excellence reflects its unwavering focus on customer satisfaction, seamless account management, and innovative digital solutions.

Customers have praised the bank for its robust mobile banking features, high transaction success rates, and swift issue resolution.

Key updates to its mobile app, such as enhanced security features and personalised budgeting tools, have reinforced the bank’s leadership position.

“Stanbic IBTC’s responsiveness and quick resolution of unusual account activity reaffirmed my confidence in their services,” one retail customer shared.

In the SME Banking segment, Stanbic IBTC Bank continues to shine with its dedication to addressing the unique needs of small and medium enterprises.

Customers have highlighted the bank’s efficient payment processing, proactive issue resolution, and personalised relationship management.

“Stanbic IBTC’s SME services have been a game changer for my business, offering unmatched support and solutions that are both timely and effective,” a survey respondent stated.

The survey highlighted that Stanbic IBTC’s leadership is rooted in its commitment to core principles of customer experience excellence—integrity, resolution, expectations, time, effort, personalisation, and empathy. These values drive the bank’s ability to deliver exceptional service and foster lasting customer trust.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The chief executive of TeamApt Limited, Mr Dennis Ajalie, has called for a robust collaboration in the digital payments ecosystem, saying banks and fintech companies should not see themselves as rivals.

Mr Ajalie said the industry’s regulator, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has delineated what each entity should do and how they should function in creating a successful payment ecosystem that protects consumers and enables businesses, which he admitted to be complementary and not competitive.

Touching on the imperative of borderless transactions and the solutions for implementation concerning the framework, he said, “Borderless transactions have to happen because we’re becoming more interconnected by the day and by the minute.”

“We still have a lot of siloed implementations among key stakeholders and unless we recalibrate our systems, borderless remains beyond our reach and a mirage,” Mr Ajalie stated at the Committee of e-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH) conference in Lagos themed Payment System Vision 2030: Navigating Contemporary Issues in Driving Future Growth.

“There’s the fierce urgency of now that demands that we find solid ways to interconnect, and once we’re able to interconnect within ourselves, reconcile properly, especially on the local front, then we can present a single, unified front that will enable us to push transactions and receive transactions from outside.

“We cannot go forward without fixing these internal challenges,” he added at the event, where he was one of the panellists.

TeamApt, a subsidiary of Moniepoint Incorporated, facilitates payment processing across many industries while enabling reliable payments for banks and their customers while reducing operating costs.

Wrapping up his thoughts, the TeamApt boss reiterated the need for industry-wide collaborations in fighting the menace of fraud.

“If we are able to all share information and collaborate seamlessly, we’ll find out that it becomes disinteresting for these bad faith individuals to use the collective technology commonwealth that we have all built to commit nefarious activities.

“So, it goes back to collaboration among fintechs, the banks, NFIU, infrastructure providers, the telcos, and switches. We’ve all got to come together to say, enough is enough and that this present situation threatens all of us rather than just one of us,” he added.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

An innovative web banking platform to provide customers with an additional digital channel to manage and carry out uninterrupted daily transactions on their phones, laptops and other devices has been introduced by Bankit Microfinance Bank (MFB).

The emerging small financial institution said it came up with this platform to break barriers and empower individuals and businesses to manage their finances with confidence.

With this, Bankit MFB is redefining convenience and security in banking, ensuring uninterrupted access to financial services, time-saving functionalities, efficiency, real-time account updates, 24/7 availability, and faster transactions.

“In today’s fast-paced digital age, connectivity is everything in banking, and for us, it’s all about improving customer experience with simple banking options and empowering our teeming customers to live their best lives.

“We are revolutionizing the Fintech landscape in Nigeria, and we have developed this solution to empower our customers to bank securely, anytime, anywhere, conveniently.

“We are committed to leveraging technology to enhance the banking experience for all our customers,” the chief executive of Bankit Africa, Mr Yen Choi, stated.

“Bankit’s web banking platform reaffirms one of the bank’s core values – Innovation and sets a new standard for accessibility and security in the banking industry.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to excellence, Bankit Africa will continue to evolve its offerings to meet and exceed the needs of its rising customer base.

“Some key features of this web banking platform include: a simple way to send money, buy airtime, and pay bills with no extra fees or hidden charges,” he added.

Bankit MFB is a licensed financial institution dedicated to providing innovative, customer-centric financial solutions to individuals, businesses, and communities in Nigeria, with a focus on simplicity, convenience, and security.