It’s the “new normal” again.
If the pandemic had a manifesto its number one point would have been to change the way we do business, and it definitely has succeeded in doing just that as it is the motivation behind hundreds of innovations and strategies seeking to leverage IT to render services and solutions that hitherto had to be carried out by personnel on a face to face basis. Hence the ubiquitous caption “new normal” In business.
After years of the self-service options on their applications being ignored, Nigerian Banks not to be left out when the word innovation is mentioned have taken to their media spaces to air their previously ignored innovations that enable their customers transact remotely. Apart from the usual balance check, bills payment and fund transfer services that their apps are known for, here is a rundown of a list of services available across most Nigerian Banks’ applications:
Investment services.
Compare fixed deposit rates across Banks from the comfort of your home by logging in and out of their different applications before you place your funds- all online of course. Treasury bills investments are not left out too.
Not cut out for conventional investments as these, no problems. Most Banks have you covered in the most traditional way by giving you a platform to organize contributions with your family and friends. Yes, ajoo or esusu is available on most platforms.
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Cheque services.
You know the ego trip you feel whenever your account officer calls you to confirm your cheque, the Banks have conspired to take it away by providing a cheque confirmation feature on their apps.
I know you won’t subscribe to this if you are anything like me, but the other cheque services such as cheque book requests, stop orders, cheque number validity and Manager’s Cheque requests still make this service worth your while.
Card services.
Only a handful of people know that they can make card requests and deactivate/activate their cards on their Bank apps. Congratulations, you are now part of that handful.
Other services.
You can open an account, monitor your trade transactions, pay staff salaries, schedule bill payments, receive third-party international transfers, make international transfers, download bank statements, locate the closest branch, make loan applications and register your complaints via your bank app.
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The banks even go the extra mile of using app notifications to update you concerning recent industry developments and security tips knowing the effort you have put in ignoring the countless SMS and mails they have sent to this effect. All these in an effort for you to keep your distance and bank from home.
When in 2015, Bill Gates posed the question of whether Bank accounts could be opened without physically coming to the Bank, it seemed a little farfetched. Now it’s clear that the days are gone when footfall at a Bank’s branch were a sign of their market share, it is about the number of downloads of its apps and its usage hence the push by these Banks for their customers to use these apps even as they strive to make them more efficient.
This is the “new normal”.
with all the IT investments one still has to visit the banks to get new cards. why do they request address and other details in the first place..