By Aduragbemi Omiyale
For the second straight year, Ecobank Nigeria has won the Best Retail Bank in Nigeria award, beating other notable financial institutions in the country to reclaim the prize.
The award was issued by the Asian Banker at the Middle East and Africa Regional 2021 awards ceremony held recently in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Asian Banker Excellence in Retail Financial Services and Technology Innovation Award is acclaimed as the most rigorous, prestigious and transparent country level award programme for consumer financial services and technology in Middle East & Africa.
The awards committee assesses banks and non-banks in Middle East & Africa on a product and business level through a comprehensive evaluation process based on criteria and scorecards on world-class standards of what the retail banking proposition and technology proposition should be.
The Managing Director, Regional Executive, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Patrick Akinwuntan, while commenting on the award, stated that, “The fact that the bank is winning this award for the second time shows that we have come to stay in terms of delivering world-class and diverse financial services in Nigeria and to a greater number of Africans across the continent.
“We understand their needs, forecast opportunities in the market and making our digital platforms available to be leveraged to achieve the highest potentials.
“Ecobank’s platform is unique for all types of retail transactions, especially account opening, bills payment, airtime purchase and third party transfers.
“We have ATMs spread across the country while our agency network reaches every community in order to provide basic financial services and support for every Nigerian. We have built an ecosystem that brings affordable financial services – payments and collections to every African.”
Mr Akinwuntan reiterated that the award is worthy recognition of Ecobank’s digital transformation landmark initiatives whereby “we can make payments into more accounts and wallets than any other bank in Africa.”
He also commended the Asian Banker Awards’ Team for creating an opportunity to celebrate innovative ideas by members of the banking community, assuring that Ecobank will continue to deploy its robust digital platforms and enhance customer experience at every touchpoint.
On his part, the Chairman of The Asian Banker, Mr Emmanuel Daniel, congratulated Ecobank and other winners of the prestigious awards in the various categories, stating that the process for selection was rigorous, transparent and conducted with the highest level of integrity.
Ecobank Nigeria Limited is a subsidiary of the Ecobank Group, the leading pan-African banking group with operations in 33 African countries and an international presence in four locations (London, Paris, Beijing, and Dubai).
The lender is a full-service bank providing wholesale, retail, investment and transaction banking services and products to governments, financial institutions, multinationals, international organizations, medium, small, and micro businesses, and individuals.
Ecobank is a major player in the distribution of financial services in Nigeria, leveraging digital platforms including Ecobank Mobile App and USSD *326#, Ecobank Online, Ecobank OmniPlus, Ecobank Omnilite, EcobankPay, Ecobank RapidTransfer, ATMs, POSs and an extensive distribution network of over 250 branches and about 30,000 agency banking locations.
Dipo Olowookere 
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