By Dipo Olowookere
One of Nigeria’s foremost financial institutions, Wema Bank Plc, has partnered with Etisalat Nigeria to introduce the WemaEasySavers, a Tier-1 savings account aimed at ensuring financial inclusion for more Nigerians, especially the youth.
The newly launched WemaEasySavers is an easy to open and use account designed to enable under-banked and unbanked Nigerian youth to achieve their financial goals while operating a regular bank account through their mobile phones.
This partnership will enable Wema Bank’s new drive to expand its presence in the youth market and also forms a strong part of Etisalat’s commitment towards driving the achievement of the Federal Government’s financial inclusion goal.
The bank, which recently launched its USSD banking code *945#, is seeking to leverage the market-wide acceptance of the product and Etisalat’s strong appeal in the youth market to onboard new customers using a unique code *945*10#.
Speaking about the partnership, Director, Digital Business, Etisalat Nigeria, Mrs Adia Sowho, said the partnership was significant for the telco as a youth-friendly network.
“We are delighted at this partnership with Wema Bank as it provides Etisalat another platform to enable Mobile Financial Services that will empower the youth segment.
“Etisalat is passionate about the development of Nigerian youth and we continuously seek ways to add value to their lives, and Wema Bank also shares this same vision,” she said.
Head of Retail and SME Banking at Wema Bank, Mr Dotun Ifebogun welcomed the partnership as a significant milestone for the bank.
“At Wema Bank, we have a renewed focus on the youth market because we know how important the youth are to the growth and expansion of the Wema brand. That is why we launched the WemaEasySavers account in partnership with Etisalat,” he said.
Mr Ifebogun explained that any Etisalat subscriber can open the new WemaEasySavers account anywhere, anytime and on any type of phone, including feature phones, just by dialing *945*10#.
Accounts opened via *945*10# can be used instantly for transactions of up to N30,000 daily. However, it can be upgraded any time to other account types that give higher transaction limits. The WemaEasySavers account is the easiest account to open and operate anywhere in the country.
Wema Bank prides itself as having a robust Information Technology infrastructure while Etisalat Nigeria has been recognised as one of the best networks in the country and with these advantages, the partnership is expected to offer customers the easiest, yet effective way to bank.
Below are short codes on *945#
Short codes on *945#
Self help short codes
| Action | Short code | |
| 1 | Balance Enquiry(check balance) | *945*0# |
| 2 | Link BVN | *945*BVN# |
| 3 | Self-Recharge | *945*amount# |
| 4 | Buy Airtime | *945*phone Number*amount# |
| 5 | Change PIN | *945*00# |
| 6 | Get Account Number | *945*000# |
| 7 | Change account number | *945*2*oldaccountnumber*newaccountnumber# |
| 8 | Cash-on-the-Go(cardless withdrawal) | *945*8*amount# |
| 9 | Card Control(to prevent Card usage on platforms
(POS,ATM,Web countries) |
*945*11*last four digits of card# |
Bill Payment Short Codes
| Action | Shortcode | |
| 10 | Remita Payment | *945*9*RRR# |
| 11 | DSTV Subscription Payments | *945*16*smartcardnumber*amount# |
| 12 | GoTV Subscription Payments | *945*17*smartcardnumber*amount# |
| 13 | Startimes Payments | *945*18*smartcardnumber*amount# |
| 14 | EKO AND IKEJA DISCO | *945*19*meternumber*amount# |
| 15 | Smile Subscription Payments | *945*20*idnumber*amount# |
| 16 | Swift4GBroadband subscriptionPayments | *945*21*idnumber*amount# |
| 17 | Merchant Payments | *945*22*MERCHANTCODE*amount# |
Funds transfers Short codes
| Action | Shortcode | |
| 18 | Receive Western Union | *945*14*MTCN*amount# |
| 19 | Receive/ redeem money | *945*4*confirmationnumber*amount# |
| 20 | Send Money to phone/email | *945*5*amount# |
| 21 | Send Money | *945*accountnumber*amount# |
Aduragbemi Omiyale