Agency Banking In Nigeria: Impact and Impediments

Abstract

Agency banking is branchless banking in which some banking activities are performed by third parties, which ordinarily are performed within the physical bank branches by bank personnel. This study sought to determine the impact and challenges of adopting agency banking in Nigeria. The five administrative divisions in Lagos State were the focus of the exercise. Two structured questionnaires were designed to unravel the operating environment of agency banking in Lagos State, Nigeria. The agent-focused and customer-focused questionnaires were randomly administered within the sample area. The data collection period was from June through August 2022. The valid responses totalling 752 for customers and 250 for agents were analysed. The data analysis was based on descriptive statistics. The findings showed that the need to earn extra income was the major reason for being an agent, while proximity, convenience, responsiveness and liquidity were major factors for customers using agency banking. However, the major operating problems identified included transaction failures, delayed reversal, network failures and fraud. It was recommended that improved operational efficiency, network facility upgrade and agent training would go a long way to improve agency banking in Nigeria.