Zenith USSD banking transaction value rises by 30.8% Y-o-Y to hit N497.29 billion

Zenith Bank Nigeria Plc has recorded an impressive 30.8% and 76.4% YoY rise in its USSD banking transaction value and volume respectively, for the year ended 2019.

This is according to the bank’s recent report tagged “Zenith Bank Plc – 2019 Sustainability Report,” made available on the Nigerian Stock Exchange platform.

• Based on the report, the bank’s USSD transaction value grew from N380.25 billion in 2018 to N497.29 billion, indicating a 30.8% rise.
• Also, its USSD transaction volume rose from 29.65 million in 2018 to 52.30 million in 2019, indicating an increase of 76.4% Y-o-Y.

Other financial inclusion highlights

• The bank deployed additional 118 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) from 1,817 in 2018 to 1,935 in 2019.
• The bank increased its physical branches by 76, from 529 branches in 2018 to 605 branches in 2019.
• It also increased its POS terminals by 95% from 16,425 in 2018 to 32,027 in 2019.
• The bank increased the number of its branches accessible to physically challenged persons from 30 in 2018 to 35 in 2019.
• In 2019, the bank facilitated financial literacy workshops in 35 schools across the country, impacting 13,418 students which comprises of 6,601 boys and 6,817 girls.
• Between 2018 and 2019, the bank recorded a positive growth in its retail accounts product by an additional 1,457,581 indicating an increase of 144.4% Y-o-Y.

What this means

The growth in the bank’s USSD transaction value and volume is a positive indicator of a surge in mobile banking and financial inclusion, especially for under-banked and unbanked individuals.

Corroborating this assertion is a part of the report which explicitly stated that the bank recorded a 36.87% increase in the number of unbanked individuals who received financial services from Zenith Bank in 2019. From 538,910 individuals in 2018 to 737, 628 in 2019, indicating a growth of 36.87% Y-o-Y.

What you should know

Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) allows users without a smartphone or data/internet connection to use mobile banking at a cost-effective rate.

It is similar to SMS (Short Messaging Service) – but unlike SMS, USSD transactions are effective when a particular code is dialed on the phone and instructions are promptly followed.