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Oduoza seeks enhanced collaboration between banks, telcos

By on December 13, 2014

The Group Managing Director of the United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Mr. Philips Oduoza has stressed the need for increased collaboration between banks and telecommunication companies for improved services.
Oduoza said this in a keynote address titled: “Exploring Better Relationships Between Banks and Telecoms Companies,” delivered at the 29th quarterly general meeting of the Committee of Chief Internal Auditors of Banks in Nigeria (CCIABN) held in Lagos yesterday.
The UBA boss was represented by the bank’s Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking, Mr. Femi Olaloku.
He urged the telecom companies in the country to make the necessary investments to upgrade their respective networks.
He noted that telecom companies and mobile network operators (MNOs) have become an essential part of the Nigerian financial services landscape.
Nigeria’s tele-density data was put at 95.20 per cent as at August 2014, with active subscriber lines at 133.28 million, according to the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC).
However, the UBA boss pointed out that the sector holds the key to extension as well as the development of quality financial services to the banked, the unbanked and under-banked across geographical divides and the society.
According to Oduoza, various critical banking services and offerings depend on telecom infrastructure for ATMs, Point of Sale (PoS) terminals, mobile phones, internet banking,  text messages, among others.
“It follows therefore that innovations in technology in the areas of handset functionality, chip, mobile network technologies and upgrades to PoS infrastructure have dramatically improved the environment for fulfilling the traditional financial intermediation role of banks.
“The ubiquity of their networks and platforms robustness has also made sector a strategic partner for realisation of the financial inclusion goals of the Nigerian Financial System Strategy 2020 (FSS 2020).
“In turn, the Nigerian banking system has supported the telecommunication industry by providing funding for technology infrastructure development and expansion to the MNOs through various structured credits and loans syndicated over the years,” he explained.

 

[ThisDay]