Nigeria’s next-generation marketing communications group, SBI Media Limited is now poised to launch 9PSB, a pioneer player of payment service banking.
The imminent launch of 9PSB was given the green-light after the Central Bank of Nigeria announced the approval of an operational license to provide immersive financial services to Africa’s most populous market and more importantly, the continent’s largest economy.
The announcement of 9PSB into the financial services sector is coming at a pivotal point in the history of mankind with the new-normal brought by COVID-19 as well as the opportunities it presents innovative brands to design, iterate products and services by leveraging digital technologies and big data to better meet the changing needs of customers.
Despite the peculiar challenges facing the drive toward financial inclusion, the switch to leverage financial technology and digital media has increased the growth of transactions exponentially, making the Nigerian financial services sector, the largest and one of the fastest-growing in the world.
According to statistics from the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the value of point of sale (POS) transactions amounted to ₦3.2 trillion ($8.854 billion) in 2019 as the total volume of the transactions hit 438 million within the same period.
9PSB will not only drive financial inclusion across the country, targeting cross segments of savvy and budding customers, but the brand will also pioneer ground-breaking financial products and services that will be part of the lives of Nigerians.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of 9mobile, Alan Stanfield, “ 9PSB, being a member of the 9Mobile family and the first payment service bank to kick-off operations was already positioned to “open up a digital world of possibilities to improve everyday lives,” he added that, “this new development will further improve the country and the people going forward.”
In his remarks, 9Mobile’s Chief Financial Officer, Phillips Oki, noted that “the financial inclusion that 9PSB will provide will be an enabler to achieving unparalleled benefit in everyday transactions.”
Oki reiterated that with a wide network of agents located in urban and rural communities across the country, 9PSB would make it seamless and more convenient for Nigerians to send and receive money. “9PSB is also available on mobile App and internet banking for ease and simplicity,” Oki noted that, over the coming weeks, 9PSB will unveil its products and services to Nigerians.”
Since the conception of the 9PSB brand and the subsequent journey to execute a landmark launch in the market, SBI Media Group has been a formidable partner in the journey. From the strategic approach of the brand’s go-to-market marshal plan, the group is poised to work symbiotically with the brand leadership to deliver beyond expectations.
Commenting on the milestone development, the Managing Director of SBI Media Limited, Rotimi Bankole, said “The announcement of 9PSB as a pioneer player in the payment service banking segment is a remarkable moment in the history of SBI Media Group. It is a confirmation that the agency has made its mark in the marketing communications industry given our humble beginning. It is, however, a call-to-service to deliver top-notch and quality services to our partners at 9PSB and our coterie of clients across the various sector of the Nigerian and global economy.”
In the last seven years, SBI Media Group has grown from being the favourite of tech startups to courting the win-win partnership of bluechip brands in the telecoms, mobile, financial services, technology, aviation, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) as well as the public sector.
Earlier this year, SBI Media was announced as the preferred agency to manage the multi-billion naira 9mobile business as the brand seeks to further push the boundaries of innovation in the telecoms sector. The group also leverages its partnership with the largest smartphone maker in Africa, Transsion Holdings to further prove its mettle in the Nigerian marketing communications industry.
It is worthy of note that SBI Media Group is the West African strategic hub of Masscom Global (MCG), a global network of 30 agencies in emerging markets and the Asia Pacific reaching over 120 countries worldwide. With the support of its partners and the MCG Network, the agency is committed to delivering beyond client’s expectations with the unique DNA of speed, innovation-driven business leadership and the quest for excellence.