Download Bankly Agent App

Bankly is a digital product, that makes saving as easy as loading a recharge card.- Savings as easy as 123With our pioneer Recharge to Save model, savings becomes as easy as loading a recharge card. We make the challenges of handling cash, one less thing to worry about.- Do more with cashConveniently convert your cash and make transfers on the go. Experience the speed of peer-to-peer transaction and payments with your- Buy! Save! Pay!Purchase vouchers from agents around you, make convenient, seamless and secure savings. Deposit in your Bankly account to save, and also make payments.

Over the past 18 months, the company has been building out its distribution and agent networks. Here, customers can deposit and withdraw cash with a Bankly agent any time. This solves the issue of access as there are thousands of agents in these cash-dependent communities.

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When the information of this new set of customers is collected and saved on its platform, Bankly starts to build engaging communities where these people can collectively save their income with the agents. Slowly, an online banking presence is built for them.

Agents on the platform also take commissions for any transaction a customer makes through them. This time last year, the company had a little over 2,000 agents across the country. Now, that number has grown to 15,000.

The company still plans to add more agents with the new investment received. To increase its 35,000 customer base in cash-dependent communities, Bankly will also provide direct-to-consumer products in the coming months.

"We use an agent network that acts like a cash-in point. People deposit cash with an agent who credits their Bankly mobile wallet. When they need cash, they can withdraw from any Bankly agent. Bankly customers are able to save money digitally," she explained.

In the ajo system, Nigerians can lose their savings if the ajo dies or runs off with their money. Bankly protects customers from that risk. Its agent network also tackles the issue of low financial literacy.

"Often Nigerians don't appreciate why it's important to have a savings wallet. As members of the community, agents are trusted by customers and they can explain what customers stand to gain by saving their money digitally. By digitizing those savings, Bankly helps unbanked Nigerians gain access to credit and other financial services thanks to the creation of identity and a credit profile," explained Majekodunmi.

Bankly, which makes money from transactions on its platform as well as commission fees from its agents, has faced its fair share of challenges, but Majekodunmi said it has learned some key lessons along the way.

Bankly launched in July 2019, and to date have over 3000 agents delivering and over 17,000 customers. (That is very strong growth). But meeting their team, this is not at all surprising. The strong team comprises of the co-founder of Ping Express (a digital international remittances company), a partner of McKinsey & Co. (a management consulting company), a director of Interswitch (a payment processing company headquartered in Lagos) and two skilled tech entrepreneurs.

Although the system is popular because it works completely offline, it has inherent security risks, limited access, and a lack of customer data, which Bankly addresses by allowing participants to save their money using both online and offline methods. Customers can deposit and withdraw cash with a Bankly agent or make payments using its app or USSD function.

To use Bankly, you can download the Bankly mobile app, create an account with basic information, and start saving and sending money. Cash deposits can be made at Bankly agent locations or using Bankly vouchers available at retail stores. Money can be sent to other Bankly customers or bank accounts through the mobile app, along with bill payments and purchases of airtime and data. Bankly charges low fees for services, which are often lower than traditional banks.

To fund your Bankly wallet, you can deposit cash at a Bankly agent location, use a Bankly voucher purchased from retail stores, or transfer money from another bank account. To withdraw money, you can either withdraw cash at a Bankly agent location or transfer money to your bank account through the Bankly mobile app.

In Nigeria, Bankly brings people into the financial system. Through a network of local agents, it makes digital financial services accessible for low-income communities. This especially benefits women and entrepreneurs in the informal sector.

In Nigeria, I experienced two main challenges. The first one was the inability of financial services to get to the last mile while other fast moving consumer services such as alcohol, tobacco etc. could reach these same communities. So, I got involved with a research study with Accion. Second, I once experienced how a community lost its savings when a thrift collector ran away with their daily savings. (Thrift collectors, popularly called Alajo*, are agents who help to save in communities where there are no formal savings institutions and access to banks is limited. They do this by collecting cash in various markets and communities and provide a physical notepad to the saver for record keeping.)

How did Bankly address these challenges?

First, we digitized the informal savings process while partnered with a licensed commercial bank. This ensured that the money our clients saved was secure, independent of the local agent. Second, we leveraged this digital data to build credit information.

This process was growing organically until COVID disruption due to lockdowns of informal markets. Although our savings pool began to deplete, we were excited our savers had emergency funds that served as a buffer during this challenging period. Our agents also began to provide other financial services to the communities using point of sale terminals. All these made us realise how important a hybrid model is in order to serve the informal sector. the offline channels and distribution, was as important as the technology side. We went ahead to create a network of skilled agents network that enabled people to make payments or withdraw money in several communities nationwide.

We have almost 40,000 agents/merchants and consistently serve about one million users. About 70 per cent of them are from low-income communities, and 47 per cent are women. Some of these people are savers, others transfer, withdraw or pay utilities through Bankly.

We need partners to reach certain goals, like increasing the share of women agents. They do not necessarily need to provide cash. As we are targeting micro-merchants, we are looking for partners to deploy technical devices so they can access digital services. We are also looking for people who can train them in financial literacy.

We are still in the process of overcoming them: trying to streamline processes, track the effectiveness of agents, and change the language we are communicating in. In addition, we are looking for partners who are aligned with our goals and do not put profit over everything.

In 2020, Bankly further expanded its offerings, venturing into agency banking and creating a network of over 50,000 agents nationwide to provide a cushion during the COVID-19 pandemic. These agents have collectively facilitated access to financial services for over 12 million unique individuals to date.

Trust, security of deposits and proximity of each contributor to the main collector are among such challenges. To tackle these, the startup has developed an agent network over the last 18 months to close the access gap as well as increase confidence among potential users.

The startup reports having 15,000 agents currently and plans to build a customer base to 2 million in three years. That mission will be helped by the investment it has now received from companies also in the fintech space in Nigeria.

But even as the voucher system helped with significant adoption during the pilot phase, Bankly now prioritizes a 1,500-strong growing network of agents spread across 7 states in Nigeria built in 6 months.

Prior to developing the agent app, the startup used USSD for onboarding users and a few agents in parts of south-western Nigeria. This was, more or less, a way of testing the waters during the initial phase.

Currently, there are some 1,500 agents serving up to 10,000 users on the platform, and counting. These agents are responsible for onboarding users, collecting the savings, enlightening/encouraging users on basic saving habits, and facilitating cash retrieval.

Customers can easily sign up on Bankly by registering with agents who are present in strategic locations. Bankly and its agents currently earn commissions on the individual accounts held and regular mobile money offerings like funds transfer and bill payments, as well as interests on credit extended to customers.

Thus, Bankly actively uses super-agent networks, as well as collaborations with organisations that have a wide reach like the Association of Mobile Money Agents of Nigeria, to expand its reach into neglected/underserved communities.

When Bankly started, we were not an agency banking company. What most people know today as Bankly right now is a part of a group called 5554 Technologies. Within 5554 Technologies we have Bankly, which is doing agency banking, and we have more recently, a Microfinance bank. When we started, Bankly initially started as digitizing savings. Our focus were the three challenges that were faced by people who deal with cash, which were the Alajos, the people who were in the market, the people who were saving with agents who were the Alajos at the time and losing their money. Security, price, and access were the issues we were solving for. That was why I said we evolved. We did a slight pivot as Bankly in 2020 because, first, we were testing when we 006ab0faaa