Ecobank Nigeria, has disclosed plans to bring banking operations closer to Nigerian neighborhoods by expanding its agent banking locations to 50,000 before the end of 2019.

Managing director of the bank, Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan, who disclosed this during a media chat with journalists in Lagos, explained that the move is in line with the vision of the Pan African Bank to ensure the financial inclusion of all Nigerians.

According to him, the bank has 400 physical locations in Nigeria, and the aim is to let every household have access to Ecobank services “We have presence in every state in Nigeria. We have a customer base of 9 million in Nigeria, with 400 branches. More interestingly, more than 4,000 agency locations known as Ecobank Xpress point which is our approach to bringing banking to every neighborhood.

“Our ambition is to have 50,000 of such locations this year such that in every neighbourhood you can access Ecobank Xpress point to do cash deposit, withdrawal and actually make it more convenient for customers to open an account, get an instant card and participate in financial economy. Across the group, we have about 4,000 ATMs. In Nigeria we have 2,000 ATMs and we are still expanding the ATM network,” he said.

Speaking on the contribution of Ecobank to Nigerian and African economy, Akinwuntan said the bank has recorded many firsts in the banking industry revolution and introduction of EcobankPay is one of them.

He said, “we have introduced EcobankPay which has brought together all three QR codes available in the country on one platform. EcobankPay accepts and make payment with Masterpass, Mvisa and Mcash. You can have 100 QR codes at no additional cost. You don't require different number, just one number and you are able to transact. We bringing this digital solution into the economy will enable small businesses to participate more effectively, enables faster savings, reduces risk of insecurity.”

Akinwuntan added that Ecobank will be bringing message of the combination of its POS, EcobankPay, Express Point, ATMs, Ecobank Omni, and Ecobank Omni light to markets and households to enable people interact with the products.