FirstBank leads other top banks in e-business earnings
Nigeria’s leading financial institution, First Bank Nigeria Limited tops other first-rated banks based on earnings from e-businesses .The tier-1 banks popularly known as the FUGAZ (First Bank, UBA, GT Bank, Access Bank and Zenith Bank) recorded higher e-business earnings than other commercial banks in the first half of 2020.
Data from their half-year 2020 financials show that the FUGAZ generated a sum of N67.3 billion from electronic business, a drop of 14.2% compared to N78.4 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2019.The recent decline could be attributed to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and a CBN policy that implemented a downward review of bank charges for various transaction.
The top banks and their e-business earnings for the H1 of the year are as follows:
- FirstBank—–N21.7 billion
- UBA———-N17.93 billion
- Access Bank-N13.9 billion
- Zenith Bank—N8.94 billion
- GT Bank——N4.8 billion
First Bank leads the pack
First Bank toppled Zenith Bank to the first position, having earned N21.7 billion from e-business between January and June 2020, a marginal decrease of 0.53% compared N21.83 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2019. Meanwhile, the bank’s e-business revenue had enjoyed consistent growth in the past years, growing by 40.8% between 2018 and 2017, and a 46.3% growth between 2019 and 2018.
Despite being one of the oldest banks in the country, First Bank has been at the forefront of the mobile banking revolution. The bank was one of the pioneers of the USSD platform which is used to transfer money via a text messaging application of a mobile phone.
The bank also has two mobile banking apps, the FirstMobile which is like other banking apps, and FirstMonie which does not require its customers to have bank accounts to transfer money or make transactions. It also makes use of FirstBank mVisa, which allows consumers to pay for goods and services through FirstMobile by scanning a QR code or by dialing a USSD number. Other apps include; Qr Merchant and First Bank Paypal.
Stiff Fintech competition
Generally, most banks suffered a heavy decline in their e-businesses revenue. As earlier stated, the decline could also be attributed to the economic downturn witnessed in the country as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the new CBN mandated downward review of bank charges for various transactions.
Commercial banks also face stiff competition from startups who are entering the Fintech space to compete for market share with backing from venture capital and private equity firms. The influx of tech-oriented banks continues to pose a threat to revenue earned by the traditional banks from e-businesses.
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