Encomium
| There was palpable excitement at two popular Lagos markets on Thursday and Friday, May 19 and 20, 2022, as excited fans jostled for photo ops with Nollywood comic actors Olaniyi ‘Sanyeri’ Afonja and Afeez ‘Saka’ Oyetoro.The Oke-Arin market in Lagos Island and Igando Multipurpose Market in the Alimosho local government area of Lagos received two unusual guests whose presence disrupted business activities at the markets.Incredulous fans and market women swarmed around the movie stars as they exchange banter, take photos and dance. While some also went home with prizes from the games and raffles.Some fans who witnessed and captured the moment said Sanyeri was at Oke Arin market on Thursday while Saka was at Igando on Friday interacting with women on how to use MoMo Payment Service Bank (PSB), the new fintech solution that is expected to further deepen financial inclusion among Nigerians. A 2020 survey by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) says 38.1 million of Nigeria’s 106 million adults remained financially excluded. Fintech services have been identified as one of the significant solutions to bridge this gap and help Nigeria reach its financial inclusion target. Sanyeri and Saka showed the traders how to open MoMo wallets by dialing *671# on any network on their mobile phone, send money to any mobile phone in the country, buy airtime and pay bills with the service. Sanyeri and Saka engaged in fun banter, engaged in dance competitions and took photos with fans at the market events. Guests were also treated to exciting experiences such as games and raffles and they had the opportunity to go home with amazing prizes as part of the market event. The Iyaloja of Ifedapo Market, Oke Arin, Mrs Fausat Akinolu, who opened a MoMo wallet during Sanyeri’s visit to the market, funded her wallet and sent money to a colleague to test the seamless process of the service. Speaking about her experience, Akinolu said, “I just sent money to my friend, Iya Ibeji, using just her phone number, and the process was seamless. MoMo PSB is indeed better than cash, and I want everyone to know that they can just dial *671# to open their own wallet. “In addition to delivering a wide range of digitised payment services aimed at removing the friction from everyday payment by digitising cash payment, MoMo wallets in the future will also enable account holders to receive inbound remittance from any country in the world, an important feature given Nigeria’s ranking as the destination for the highest remittance inflow in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Chief Executive Officer, MoMo PSB, Usoro Usoro, who was also at Oke-Arin market, told traders and buyers, “Wetin MoMo mean, be say, everybody for Nigeria wey get phone, fit open bank account. You fit open simple wallet and this wallet wey you open, you no go need ID card, no passport, no document, no wahala. The simple thing wey you need do, na to dial *671# and you go fit send money from any phone number without any charges.” The CBN introduced PSB to cater to financially excluded communities. MoMo PSB was granted final approval by the CBN in April 2022.In the coming weeks, MoMo PSB will visit key market locations across Nigeria, including Kano, Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Jos, Sokoto, Enugu, Akwa Ibom and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja |
