Microfinance refers to financial services provided to low-income people, usually to help support self-employment. Examples of microfinance products include: small loans, savings plans, insurance, payment transfer, and other services that are provided in small increments that low-income individuals can afford. These services help families start and build "micro" enterprises, the very small businesses that are important sources of employment, income, and economic vitality in developing countries worldwide.

Because salaried or wage-paying jobs are scarce in many developing countries, most citizens earn their livings through self-employment, creating and operating their own small enterprises. But without financial options to fuel productivity, they can never grow their businesses to help escape poverty. The microfinance movement was born to ease the suffering caused by poverty, and to awaken the under-capitalized productivity of the world's working poor.

Text banking was the perfect first step for FirstGlobal to build mobile relationships with its customers because of its ubiquity, usability and the fact that more than 80% of all basic banking tasks can be accomplished via SMS. FirstGlobal understood the value of offering mobile services to increase customer loyalty, give customers more options, and ultimately expand their reach.

The Solution

Due to Clickatell's impressive track record for both retail and microfinance banks around the world and in Nigeria, and the fact that they came highly recommended for their efficiency, ability to integrate with back-end technology platforms, and their expansive global connections to more than 775 mobile networks, FirstGlobal chose to work with Clickatell to deliver text banking services to its eager mobile customers.

The Results

FirstGlobal has already seen a significant decline in the number of fraud cases being reported due to real-time Clickatell alerts sent directly when transactions occur. Customers can immediately respond to the bank when erroneous transactions occur, rather than wait the typical 30-days for physical statements to arrive in the mail.

In addition, fewer support staff are required to handle manual queries and paper-based communications because a variety of simple banking transactions - such as balance inquiries - can be easily accomplished via SMS.

FirstGlobal are now also able to increase revenue potential by providing value-added mobile services for new and existing customers. FirstGlobal sends SMS alerts to remind customers to make loan payments on time thereby reducing unnecessary interest charges as well as maximizing the bank's revenue inflow.