E-Financial
Access Bank Commits to Deepening Financial Inclusion
Access Bank has restated that it remains committed to providing access to finance for entrepreneurs in the transportation, agriculture, and health sectors this year.
Chizoma Okoli, Its Deputy Managing Director, stated this whilst announcing the bank’s partnership with Solina Centre for International Development and Research (SCIDaR) in Abuja recently.
Okoli noted that the bank had in 2022, launched a project with the goal of boosting the growth of financial inclusion in Nigeria via a number of initiatives and added that the bank has attained outstanding results so far.
She said, “As part of our ongoing mandate, we are committed to providing access to finance for entrepreneurs in the transportation, agriculture, and health sectors this year. In line with this commitment, we have collaborated with SCIDaR to drive inclusion specifically within the health space. This partnership emphasizes our unwavering commitment to fostering financial inclusion and sustainable development across Nigeria.”
Reiterating Chizoma’s comments, Njideka Esomeju, Group Head, Consumer Banking, Access Bank highlighted Access Bank’s dedication to driving inclusion in the health sector stating that the bank stands ready to extend loans to health SMEs, empowering them to expand their businesses and efficiently serve rural communities across Nigeria.
According to her, this strategy not only promotes increased financial stability but also stimulates economic growth in the health industry.
For his part, the Chief Executive Officer, SCIDaR, Dr. Uchenna Igbokwe, explained that insufficient funding has strained Nigeria’s health infrastructure, resulting in subpar performance on health metrics.
Igbokwe noted that the partnership with Access Bank is timely as it aligns with the government’s vision for the health sector and has the potential to strengthen health value chains and could contribute its own quota to the country’s GDP.
He elaborated that SCIDaR’s increased focus on access to finance and financial inclusion within the health sector, driven by the significant unmet needs and the pivotal role of finance in achieving universal health coverage in Nigeria.
Outlining SCIDaR’s approach, Igbokwe pointed to research and iterative analysis, product development/adaptation, smart subsidies, financial literacy, technology integration, and sustainable partnerships as pillars that are aligned with sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, and 17, accelerating progress towards universal health coverage and economic development in Nigeria.
This collaboration, anchored by the Promoting Accreditation for Community Health Services (PACS) project, aims to bolster the supply chain, enhance productivity, and fortify the economic resilience of SMEs within the health sector, particularly Community Pharmacists (CPs) and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) across Nigeria.
Through this collaboration, Access Bank and SCIDaR will address the challenges associated with lending to healthcare SMEs, leveraging Access Bank’s tailored financial products and services to enhance their expansion.
Among these offerings are products designed to cater to the credit requirements of health SMEs, while the Access Closa product empowers health SMEs to act as bank agents in underserved communities, thereby increasing their income and financial resilience.
The naira appreciated to N1,600 per dollar in the parallel market at the close of trading hours on Monday, strengthening from N1,610 per dollar recorded over the weekend.
Similarly, the naira saw a slight gain in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), trading at N1,605 per dollar compared to N1,606 last Friday, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This represents a marginal N1 appreciation.
As a result, the gap between the parallel market and official exchange rate widened slightly to N5 per dollar, up from N4 over the weekend.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) spent N315.18bn on currency issue expenses in 2024, marking a sharp increase of 306 per cent compared to N77.67bn recorded in 2023, the apex bank’s audited financial statement for the year has shown.
Currency issue expenses cover the printing, processing, distribution, and disposal of banknotes.
The latest figures reveal that the CBN’s cost of managing physical cash spiralled dramatically during the year under review, as Nigeria grappled with lingering cash shortages and disruptions in the money supply chain.
The surge in expenditure came as the country continued to deal with the effects of the naira redesign policy introduced in late 2022.
Despite efforts to stabilise cash circulation throughout 2023, Nigerians still faced queues at ATMs and difficulties in accessing cash in early and late 2024.
Faced with mounting public outcry, the CBN deployed several emergency measures to address the crisis.
Deposit Money Banks were directed to ensure consistent ATM loading and rural cash distribution, while the Bank also launched public hotlines for citizens to report cash scarcity incidents.
Also, the CBN ramped up enforcement efforts, including deploying monitoring teams, issuing sanctions against non-compliant banks, and mandating improved cash distribution.
PalmPay, a full-service digital bank, has reaffirmed its dedication to advancing the future of payments in Nigeria by promoting the widespread adoption of contactless-enabled payment terminals.
This was made known during the recently concluded BusinessDay Future of Payment Conference, themed “Fintech Evolution: Gateway to Payments.” In his welcome address, BusinessDay Publisher, Frank Aigbogun, emphasized that the next phase of fintech innovation must be driven not only by speed, safety, and simplicity but also by trust, inclusion, and accessibility to ensure broad-based impact across all segments of society.
Talking about PalmPay’s impact in the panel session titled “The Next Wave of Digital Payments: Trends and Innovation,” Ifeanyi Uzoka, Senior Business Development Manager at PalmPay, discussed the evolving landscape of digital payments in Nigeria.
He noted that while regulatory frameworks have supported the introduction of contactless payments, the high level of cash dependency remains a key barrier to widespread adoption.
“At PalmPay, financial inclusion is central to everything we do,” Uzoka stated. “To support this mission, we’ve launched contactless-enabled debit and premium cards, ensuring our users have access to convenient and secure payment experiences. We also understand that trust is critical, which is why all contactless transactions on PalmPay’s platform include an additional layer of authentication for enhanced security.”
PalmPay continues to lead innovation in Nigeria’s digital finance ecosystem by delivering secure, user-friendly, and future-ready solutions. The company’s recently launched debit and premium cards in partnership with Verve are now serving its growing base of over 35 million users nationwide.
This move into contactless payments underscores PalmPay’s alignment with global payment trends and its ongoing commitment to building a more inclusive and digitally empowered economy.
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