GTBank Pioneers Social Banking in Nigeria ….Banking on Facebook

GT Bank MD, Segun Agbaje

Foremost Nigerian financial institution, Guaranty Trust Bank plc has once again raised the service bar for Nigerian financial institutions with the recent unveil of its ‘Social Banking’ service on Facebook. The new offering which is the first of its kind by any Nigerian Bank allows the public open GTBank accounts and get Customer Service support on Facebook.

Speaking about the innovation, Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank plc; Mr. Segun Agbaje said the Bank’s objective is to engage the public where they work, live or play and the new service would enable persons on social networks like Facebook commence a banking relationship and perform transactions 24/7, safely and conveniently, without having to leave the platform.  According to Mr. Agbaje ‘This novel service presently allows people open GTBank accounts and get customer service support on Facebook and in a couple of weeks we will introduce new service options that include money transfers, airtime purchases and bills payments’. He further affirmed that GTBank was committed to the convenience of its stakeholders and the Bank would continue to introduce value adding alternative channels into the future.

Guaranty Trust Bank has been at the forefront of industry innovations within the Nigerian financial service sector over the last 22 years. The Bank is the first Nigerian institution to have recognized online/social channels as an emerging service point and has over 1 million followers on Facebook; the largest for any African Bank. Additionally, the Bank recently introduced GTBank Mobile Money, a highly secure application that allows customers and non GTBank customers perform transfers and payments from their mobile phones to any mobile phone subscriber within the country.

Furthermore, the Bank’s internet banking platform is one of the most robust in the industry, supporting a wide array of service offerings that include bills payments, own and third party transfers and foreign exchange transfers to any bank account in the world. The Bank’s alternative banking channels were given a Payment Card Industry Standards Council (PCISSC) certification late last year, implying that the channels meet acceptable technical and operational requirements to prevent credit card fraud, hacking and other security vulnerabilities.

Guaranty Trust Bank plc was established in 1990 and has within the last 22 years come to be recognized as one of the most innovative and service focused banks in the Nigerian financial market space. The Bank operates from 200 business locations in Nigeria and has banking subsidiaries in Cote D’Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom.