First Bank of Nigeria Ltd has economically empowered Firstmonie agents with the sum of N100 billion through its agent credit scheme.

FirstBank Group Executive, e-Business & Retail Products, Mr Chuma Ezirim, said in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.

Ezirim said the agent credit scheme was created by the banking giant to promote and expand the business activities of its foremost agent banking platform – Firstmonie Agents.

He said the initiative was in furtherance of the bank’s financial inclusion, impacting Nigerians, regardless of their locations nationwide.

Ezirim noted that the agent credit scheme was launched a year ago to empower its Firstmonie agents to grow their businesses, while being at an advantage to contribute to the national development.

He added that the scheme was created to put Firstmonie agents at an advantage to positively impact their immediate environment.

“We are truly excited about the tremendous impact of the agent credit on the performance of our Firstmonie agents nationwide.

“Since the introduction of the agent credit to support our ‘Human ATMs’ as we fondly call our Firstmonie agents, they have recorded immense growth in their businesses, at levels they never envisaged in such a short period.

“Our key goal is to continue to deliver financial services to the underserved and unbanked population , employing modern technology for processing of real time transactions.

“In doing so, contribute to building capacities and learning new skills in information technology, cash management and relationship management for our Firstmonie agents.

“We encourage our Firstmonie agents to keep being exemplary in setting the pace to promote financial inclusion as we collectively work toward the continuous growth and development of the national economy,” he said.

Ezirim explained that Firstmonie agents had been integral to bridging the financial exclusion gap, providing convenient banking services that were easily accessible, thereby saving time and travel costs for individuals in remote places.

He added that the bank’s financial inclusion activities were in line with the mandate of Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure availability of affordable financial products and services to all.

According to him, the bank currently has over 114,000 Firstmonie agents, spread across 772 local government areas in the country.