Alternative Bank decries missed transfers
The management of Alternative Bank (AltBank) has decried incessant cash friction, missed transfers, delayed payments, weak transaction records and limited credit history many customers face every day. It, however, vowed to strengthen its support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by addressing what it described as the most persistent barriers to business growth. Garba […]
alternative bank
The management of Alternative Bank (AltBank) has decried incessant cash friction, missed transfers, delayed payments, weak transaction records and limited credit history many customers face every day.
It, however, vowed to strengthen its support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by addressing what it described as the most persistent barriers to business growth.
Garba Mohammed, Executive Director, Commercial and Institutional Banking (South and Central) of the Bank, was quoted to have stated this at the 47th Kaduna International Trade Fair.
According to a statement issued during the weekend after the event, Mohammed stressed that there is a need for practical interventions that enable small businesses to operate efficiently and build sustainable growth pathways.
The Bank also noted that it has moved beyond advocacy and has deployed more than 300 free Point-of-Sale (POS) devices to MSMEs operating across trade, retail, and service clusters in the State.
Mohammed, who was represented by Solomon Okonkwo, AltBank’s Head of Corporate Social Investment, explained that the initiative was designed to help merchants transition more quickly to traceable digital payments.
“Reforms set direction. But reforms alone are not results. Results happen when MSMEs are formalized, transactions are traceable, and businesses can access finance without friction,” the senior banker explained.
He noted that MSMEs account for more than 96 percent of businesses in Nigeria and employ over 80 percent of the workforce, arguing that, yet access to finance and digital infrastructure remains a major constraint, particularly in Northern Nigeria.
Mohammed added, “An MSME that cannot accept digital payments is structurally limited. Our responsibility is not to make speeches about inclusion, but to provide the infrastructure that enables it.
“Our goal is to remove bottlenecks that limit business growth and bring more entrepreneurs into the formal financial ecosystem.”