Diamond Bank Plc has been named and awarded the Best Bank in Mobile Banking in Nigeria by Businessday in the 2016 Banking Awards. The Bank also emerged as the Bank with the ‘Most Innovative Product of the Year’ as its Cool Teen financial product, developed for teenagers, beat four others to emerge tops.
According to the award screening and selection committee, the awards are in recognition of the Bank’s high value addition to the growth and development of mobile banking in the country and its leading role in revolutionizing and positioning the mobile phone as a tool for driving financial inclusion in the country.
A message from the awarding institution as reflected in the award plaques, affirm that Diamond Bank’s success in the fiercely contested award categories by a lot of other nominated banks in Nigeria, is in recognition of its unrivalled excellence in services to customers and reward for the quality of financial products developed to stimulate the interest of youths, customers and potential customers to embrace digital banking using the mobile phone.
Receiving the awards Uzoma Dozie, Diamond Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, who was represented by the Deputy Managing Director, Caroline Anyanwu, stated that the award is a strong testament of the Bank’s conviction that the digital platform holds the key to the future of banking, adding that the Bank’s leading revolutionary role in providing efficient and cost effective services using the mobile phone is strategic.
Dedicating the awards to members of staff and the customers, the DMD said: “… we couldn’t have done it without you and your belief in us. The best is yet to come”.
According to her, the reason for developing specific financial products for the youths and children is to enable Nigerian youths belong to the banking community and know that they have a right to start early to chart a healthy financial course in life.
She pointed that the Diamond Future Account is specifically designed for parents to save for their children while the Cool-Teens and SWAG (Students With A Goal) accounts are for youths between the ages of 13 and 17 years as well as students in tertiary institutions.
Since assuming office as the Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Bank, Uzoma, working with a well-focused digital team, has stamped Diamond Bank as the leading bank with the most digital innovations in Nigeria. Diamond Bank is the first bank in Africa to launch the fingerprint recognition feature on its Diamond Mobile App, a fingerprint reader that allows users of the Mobile App an easy and seamless login to their accounts by simply recognizing and identifying their individual fingerprints – a technology very few banks in the world have adopted and implemented. The Bank is also the first to introduce the Magic Cash, an app that works with the mobile phone; it is a no-cheque, no-withdrawal slip and no-debit card financial transaction that gives customers easy access to draw cash from any of the bank’s ATMs anytime.
The bank also is the first to introduce the Diamond Y’ello account, in partnership with the mobile telecommunications giant, MTN. It is a fully mobile hybrid account that offers the over 55 million subscribers on MTN Nigeria network a fusion of financial services and telecoms incentives.
The Bank is also the first to have 1 million customers download, register and start using its mobile app for banking transactions in the financial services sub-sector.
In his opening address, Lagos State Governor, Akunwunmi Ambode, stated that despite the harsh operating environment, banks in the country have shown high level of professionalism. According to him, the sector has a role to play in ensuring that the monetary policies of government help to chart a new path for economic growth outside oil.
The governor, who was represented by a former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr Femi Pedro, urged banks to be more focused and tactical in addressing the various challenges facing the financial services sub-sector, noting that the awards were being presented for the proactive values winners have brought to the table.
“You are being celebrated today by industry peers for being the best in your field. You must remain leading lights for others to follow”, the Governor stated.
The Publisher of Businessday, Frank Aigbogun, stated in his welcome address that the awards were being held to recognize the great institutions and leaders in the banking industry. He pointed that a credible information gathering process was adopted by the Research and Development division of the organization in selecting the award winners. According to him, Businessday will continue to promote transparency in public space, while still engendering healthy rivalry and competition in the banking sector.
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