When the President announced last week in his speech that the lockdown was going to be eased and businesses would be allowed to reopen, it led to a laughter fest on Twitter with people dropping different memes to ease the tensions of the announcement.
Fast forward to Monday, lockdown shackles are off. People are out with face masks moving around Lagos in crowds, screaming and spitting at one another in front of banks, trying to get one transaction or the other done and complaints sorted before the new close of business time – 3 p.m.
If you’re like me, you’ve probably spent a few hours on social media, dishing out personal nuggets at these people who have acted irresponsibly by exposing themselves and others to the virus. At this rate, we expect the numbers to skyrocket as seen from past precedence in other countries.
Today’s occurrence has made me wonder why with the efforts of fintechs, and digital banks like Alat, Kuda, the rate of adopting virtual banking has been relatively low. I’ve seen a few answers ranging from internet adoption, to smartphone penetration, among others as the reason behind this behavior but one which has stuck with me, is the “Nigerian trust issue”. Nigerians, learned and unlearned, with and without smartphones have a low threshold of trust, especially when it comes to money and need a physical structure before committing their money to anything.
That’s why I must applaud the efforts of one of the new entrants in the virtual banking space, VBank, the virtual banking platform of VFD Microfinance bank who have done well for themselves by employing the services of a notable, credible and highly respected ambassador in DonJazzy. With the Mavin CEO as the brand’s public figure, the bank has been able to break down a lot of barriers, especially with trust and has shown encouraging signs that virtual banking can be a thing in Nigeria.
Amidst all of their marketing and communications, VBank has displayed that they can offer what our traditional banks are presently offering and more.
If you think you’re safe because you’re indoors and those who have crowded themselves in banks today are stupid, remember that money goes round, and the virus can be spread through cash.
Cash used to be king, but not at the moment. The digital banking revolution is here. It’s time to bank virtually.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a sponsored content.