The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), under its National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS), in 2012 set a target of financial inclusion rate of 80 per cent for Nigeria’s adult population by 2020. The CBN initiated the move, actively pushing for more citizens to enjoy access to formal financial services and thereby increase their chances of financial empowerment. The initiative by the apex bank perfectly fitted the banking philosophy of Diamond Bank, which focuses on financial accessibility and availability.
Diamond Bank, since its inception in 1990, has always been about retail banking, financial inclusion, and catering to the finances of ordinary people. Currently, the bank leads others in financial inclusion by wide margin due to its innovative efforts, growing the market share by offering financial services to 10 million previously unbanked individuals. In recognition of its efforts, the bank was voted “Best Bank for Financial Inclusion” in Nigeria in 2017.
Diamond Bank has targeted campaigns for Nigerians living in remote parts of the country. One of the campaigns, exclusively targeted at financially-excluded people, helps to put the unbanked population in perspective. While so much has been said about financial inclusion, many people often don’t know what people who need to be banked look like. Diamond Bank partnered African telecommunications giant- MTN Nigeria to roll out its hybrid savings account, Diamond Yello account. This service combines both financial and telecommunications functions.
Diamond Bank was one of the first Nigerian banks to employ the use of the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) for its Yello account, allowing users to open Diamond Bank’s accounts and carry out financial transactions on their mobile phones, without data or credit. Since its launch in 2014, before commercial banks were forced into retail banking, the Yello account has been able to register more than nine million bank accounts, consisting mostly of young people, and women-the demographic most hindered from financial inclusion.
The Diamond Yello account has solved that conundrum in Nigeria in Northern Nigeria by bringing on board many who have never owned a bank account. Presently, Diamond Bank controls a large share of USSD transaction volume in Nigeria with 40 per cent.