Access Bank's retail deposits grew by 95% to $5.03 billion driven by its digital transformation strategy

• Access Bank registered a net profit of over $380 million in 2021
• The bank increased its customer base to over 42 million
• It acquired over 2.6 million digital customers through digital channels

Singapore, 26 May 2022 – Access Bank was recognised as Best Retail Bank in Nigeria at the Excellence in Retail Financial Services International Programme 2022 presented by The Asian Banker. 

Financials: Access Bank registered a net profit of over $380 million in 2021

Access Bank’s net profit increased to over NGN160 billion ($380 million) in 2021. Its retail deposits grew by 95% to reach NGN2.23 trillion ($5.03 billion).  About 95% of new to bank retail deposits were collected through digital channels. The size of retail loans increased by 67.39 %, and retail banking customers grew by 9.87 %. In 2021, Access Bank’s non-performing loan (NPL) ratio was 8% while First Bank’s NPL ratio was 6.6%.

First Bank’s gross revenue in the retail banking business dropped by 22.76%. The retail deposits increased by 5.60%, as retail customers grew by 7.63% in 2021.

Customer experience: Access Bank increased its customer base to over 42 million

Access Bank has over 42 million customers in 2021 and obtained a net promoter score (NPS) of 24, higher than First Bank’s NPS of 22. Access Bank launched “Access More”, an all-inclusive payment and lifestyle super app. This solution focuses on providing interactions beyond conventional mobile banking with innovative features, such as nearby payments using QR, Bluetooth, and Facepay; a shopping mall, called ‘Central’, as well as flight booking, Visa payments and instant loans. As a result, the app onboarded 11.6 million new customers in 2021. Over 6.8 million customers made transactions using the app, representing 60% of its digital users.

Meanwhile, about 46% of First Bank’s registered users are digitally active. Over five million customers downloaded its mobile banking app on Google Play Store. First Bank’s customers made over 376 million transactions worth NGN24.9 trillion ($60 billion) using online banking channels, FirstMobile and FirstOnline. Customers made 100 million monthly average transactions worth over NGN370 billion ($880 million).

Digital journey: It acquired over 2.6 million digital customers through digital channels

Access Bank onboarded over 2.6 million new digital customers, registered 3.2 million subscriptions on mobile banking platform and processed around NGN68 billion ($160 million) in digital loans. Its competitor, First Bank’s digital loan disbursement grew by 72% year-on-year (YoY), with over NGN40 billion ($96 million) disbursed to retail customers.

Access Bank has over 3,000 ATMs with over 10 million mobile app and internet banking users. It has nine million users of unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) served by over 100,000 agents across over 600 branches. The bank recorded over NGN200 billion ($459.2 million) worth of transactions via electronic business platform. It has over 41,000 agents that provide access to financial services across 728 local government areas. On the other hand, First Bank’s customer adoption recorded a 54% increase through FirstMobile and FirstOnline channels.

About The Asian Banker

The Asian Banker is the region’s most authoritative provider of strategic business intelligence to the financial services community. The global research company is headquartered in Singapore, with offices in Manila, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Dubai, as well as representatives in London, New York, and San Francisco. It has a business model that revolves around three core business lines: publications, research services, and forums. The company’s website is www.theasianbanker.com.

For more information please contact:

Christian Kapfer

Research Director 

Email: ckapfer@theasianbanker.com