Moniepoint’s Quest to Extend Agency Banking Success to Retail Banking Through Strategic Distribution
Moniepoint’s Expansion into Retail Banking: A Thrilling Development
In a groundbreaking report on August 17, 2023, TechCabal unveiled the exciting news that Moniepoint, the renowned Nigerian fintech giant, has ventured into the realm of retail banking. This pioneering move comes from an 8-year-old startup celebrated for delivering top-notch banking services to small and medium-sized businesses throughout Nigeria. With a strategic eye on reaching an even broader customer base, Moniepoint has embarked on the journey to extend its offerings into the personal banking sector.
During a recent media gathering held in Lagos, the acting managing director of Moniepoint Microfinance Bank (MFB), Babatunde Olofin, made a captivating revelation. He shared that the parent company, Moniepoint Inc., now orchestrates payment transactions worth an impressive $12 billion every month, averaging around 400 million transactions. This figure takes on added significance when compared to Moniepoint’s remarkable achievement of handling 1.7 billion transactions, valued at over $100 billion, in 2022. Olofin emphasized that Moniepoint, formerly known as TeamApt, possesses a robust and adaptable infrastructure capable of managing substantial transaction volumes.
Moniepoint’s bold foray into retail banking positions it as a formidable contender in an arena teeming with established banks and well-funded fintech rivals, including the likes of Opay, Palmpay, Kuda, Fairmoney, and Carbon, which have already carved out substantial niches in the personal banking landscape. Notably, Opay claims to boast 35 million registered users, while Palmpay boasts over 25 million users. Moniepoint strategically aligns itself for growth amidst the ongoing surge in electronic transactions, as industry data reveals that Nigerian digital payments are experiencing a banner year. With an average monthly transaction volume exceeding 818 million for the first five months of 2023, Our Insights predicts that real-time payments could skyrocket to 9.7 billion transactions by year-end, nearly doubling the previous year’s figure.
Distribution as the Key Strategy:
Moniepoint’s secret weapon in consumer banking is its distribution strategy, anchored by an extensive network of offline agents. This network is poised to attract a multitude of customers. Babatunde Olofin highlighted their nationwide presence, referring to these agents as ‘man banks’ due to their ability to replicate the full suite of banking services available in a traditional bank branch. Even in areas lacking a physical bank presence, Moniepoint ensures accessibility through its agent network.
With an impressive count of over 1.6 million onboarded businesses and a network exceeding 10,000 agents nationwide, Moniepoint intends to harness this robust agent network to target retail customers ambitiously. Their projection includes onboarding at least 4.8 million retail customers over the next three months, a testament to their confidence in drawing three new retail banking users from each existing business customer.
Inclusivity Through Gamification:
Moniepoint’s venture into personal banking introduces an intriguing aspect for this technology-driven company. To distinguish itself within the fiercely competitive market, Moniepoint is embracing gamification. Thousands of users have the chance to win N2,000 weekly, with a grand prize of N10 million, by completing specific tasks and milestones, as revealed by Ope Adeyemi, the company’s Senior Vice President of Channels and Sales Tools.
Customers are incentivized through a rewarding system involving virtual coins earned for transactions on Moniepoint’s personal banking app. These coins grant users access to exciting weekly games such as Shuffle and Spin the Wheel. Moniepoint places its bet on gamification not only to elevate the user experience but also to motivate customers to choose the app and its accompanying debit card for transactions, favoring them over conventional cash transactions.