Signature Bank to Redefine the Banking Landscape in Nigeria

Mary Nnah

Signature Bank has launched its operations into the Nigerian banking sector with unique services that are expected to deepen Nigeria’s financial inclusion, targeting over 40 million unbanked and underbanked citizens. 

Speaking at the launch of the Bank at its headquarters in Abuja, founder of the bank, Alex Otti said that the Bank will do things differently in a bid to redefine the industry and impact the lives of customers through seamless access to financial services while leveraging flexible digital solutions and tailor-made services.

Otti, quoting statistics from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), expressed concerns that there were just about 55 million accounts in the country as of May 2022, and another 42 million people in Nigeria that have no access to financial services and need to be brought into the sector. Providing personalized services to this category of customers requires a different kind of mindset, which Signature Bank exemplifies. 

Otti said the bank will fill the customer experience vacuum that other banks have left unmanned. The birth of Signature Bank was driven by a yearning gap created by repeated unresolved complaints, poor responsiveness, and unsavory customer experience encountered regularly by the banks he and his colleagues did business with. 

“It came from a yearning for simplicity and ease of doing business and a less than adequate attention to the dynamic needs of the customer, not just within Nigeria, but across continents. For example, paying your child’s school fees, trading with partners overseas, settling bills without leaving the comfort of your home and making payments seamlessly.

Interestingly, even as banks’ strategies, products and service offerings multiplied, the changing demographics and dynamics had customers increasingly yearning for more and demanding simpler and more flexible digital solutions,” he added.

“In all these, what customers expect from their bank is not too tall an order. What customers across different business segments are looking for is a bank that fits their aspirations, their personal stories and their lifestyle. In other words, customers want a bank that puts them first,” Otti further said.