Heritage Bank’s breakthrough banking style helps less fortunate

AS TRADITIONAL ways of doing business are tweaked and reworked, entrepreneurs have taken it on themselves to revolutionise the way we do business.

For many the new marketplace is the internet and as we move towards a more digitally infused world, traditional methods of business have had to find new ways to stay relevant.

If you haven’t heard of a pop-up shop then you’re behind the times but this method of selling and marketing goods combines a smart and innovative mix of both the old and new school.

The approach gives entrepreneurs the ability to ‘pop-up’ anywhere like mushrooms, market their brand, sell their goods and get exposure for their products without the need of having to own a bricks and mortar shop front.

This saves entrepreneurs a lot of money because there a fewer overheads, like rent, that they need to pay.

Pop-up shops are very trendy and usually found in upscale hipster marketplaces in capital cities around the world.

But businesses in Nigeria have taken note and have started to use this new pop-up method of business to help more customers in harder to reach places.

With the idea that every Nigerian should be able to have a bank account, Heritage Bank has been driving its ‘Corner Shops’ initiative.

Basically, Heritage Bank commissions agents to act like a mobile or ‘pop-up’ bank so that market women, small traders and artisans can get better access to a range of financial services.

Heritage Bank CEO Ifie Sekibo said the Corner Shop initiative gave Nigerians living in rural areas better access to a bank and its financial services without actually having to travel to a branch of the bank.

Often small traders are on the go 24/7 and would find it difficult to potentially travel kilometers to reach a bank.

But with an agent that can come to you, banking for these types of traders and people becomes a whole lot easier.

Any bank customer can connect with a Heritage Bank pop-up agent and open a bank account, deposit cash, transfer money, pay bills and in some instance mobile POS.

At the weekend Heritage bank managed to secure its 400th agent across the country.

The new agent will service the Izogazebbe community which means small traders won’t have to waste time or fork out the N400 for the trip to Badagry to visit the bank.