SmartCash PSB is aimed at bridging the financial gap in Nigeria, especially the people in rural areas who are far from the city and reasonably excluded from financial services.
Speaking at the official activation of the SmartCash PSB in Wuse Market, Abuja on Thursday, the Chief Executive Officer of SmartCash, Muyiwa Ebitanmi said SmartCash PSB operations include receiving cash deposits, processing payments and remittances; issuing debit and prepaid cards; operating electronic wallets, and other services.
According to him, removing the barriers and increasing accessibility to banking services, especially to those who have been left out of banking, remains imperative, a goal that SmartCash PSB intends to achieve.
On the security attached to the services, Ebitomi said that the SmartCash is very secure, safe and the services are operated with the safety of the customers highly prioritized
Two months after Airtel Africa was granted a full Payment Service Bank (PSB) licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the telecom company, which has operations in 14 African countries, including Nigeria, on Thursday, launched its Smartcash Payment Service Bank, to further deepen financial inclusion in Nigeria.
Airtel Africa, six months ago, got CBN’s approval in principle to operate a payment service bank in Nigeria, before it was given a full PSB licence two months ago.
The Smartcash Payment Service Bank, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Artel Africa, will provide secure and reliable financial services across Nigeria.
Headquartered in Lagos, it is accepting deposits from individuals and small businesses, carries out payment and remittance services within Nigeria, and issues debit and prepaid cards among other banking services. Smartcash also enables person-to-person payment and transfers from across the world. The service is currently available at selected retail touchpoints.
Plans are underway to expand the innovative, technology-driven services to all parts of the country, including the furthest and most remote, to accelerate financial inclusion for all Nigerians.
Already, Smartcash targets reaching the 36.8 percent unbanked adult population in Nigeria, as estimated by the Access to Financial Services in Nigeria report.
Users of service are expected to download the app while the USSD code is *939#. Smartcash will serve the purpose of receiving and sending cash, among other financial transactions.
