CBN CBN, Banks Target 60% Financial Inclusion By End

 
The Bankers’ Committee has said that it is throwing its weight behind increasing significant financial services inclusion for a majority of Nigerians before the end of 2016.
Addressing journalists shortly after the committee’s meeting in Abuja, yesterday, the director, Banking Supervision, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mrs Tokunbo Martins, said that the committee extensively deliberated on the need for the 170 million Nigerians to have some form of financial inclusion and expressed delight that there has been substantial improvement in that regard.
“A couple of years back, the number of Nigerians financially included are between 30 and 40 per cent, but currently we have 66 per cent (about 57 million) Nigerians financially included, and we hope that before the end of 2016, we would reach our target of 60.5 per cent.
“If that target is achieved, I think we would have gone a long way to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians as far as financial inclusion is concerned,” she said.
On the issue of Nigerians resident in the North East, the committee said that they are working on creating more access point  in the area through mobile, agency banking, which is expected to take off soon. Refuting insinuations that bank charges discourage inclusion, the committee said that they are going to drive a financial literacy awareness so that people can understand what they are being charged for to ensure bank customers get value for what they are charged.
Linked to enhancing financial inclusion, the committee also deliberated on the dividends of the ongoing Bank Verification Number and how it can be used to instill confidence and increase financial transactions and payments in Nigeria, saying that it will help identify people appropriately and enable easier access credit facilities and borrowers.