Heritage Bank Plc over the weekend took its banking activities to the coastal town of Badagry in Lagos State.

The bank commissioned an agent, Thy Grace, to provide a range of financial services to customers in the neighbourhood of Mowo under in Badagry Local Government Area of the state.

The move, according to the bank, has swelled its agent banking base to 400 ‘Corner Shops’.

Heritage Bank says the idea is aimed at extending its banking activities to the unbanked in line with the financial inclusion strategy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The MD/CEO of Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo, explained that the bank has continued to set standard in the launching of ‘Corner Shop’ to cater for the need of traders and artisans at different locations across the country.

Sekibo said: “The shop is aimed at giving the unbanked, especially in the rural areas the opportunity to enjoy financial services without the risk and stress of walking kilometres in order to visit a bank branch.”

Speaking at the commissioning in Badagry, the Zonal Business Coordinator, South-West, South-South, Agent Banking, Heritage Bank, Oluwakemi Adewunmi, described the feat as a major breakthrough that would relieve the people living in the Ikogazebbe community of the stress they hitherto faced in transacting banking services.

Adewunmi said in a press statement that with the new Agent commissioned to represent Heritage Bank in the locality, banking services would no longer constitute a headache, but rather would be stress-free for all categories of bank customers.

“Anybody can benefit from the services of the agent whether you are a customer to Heritage Bank or another bank,” Adewunmi said.

In his remarks after receiving the Certificate of Authorisation to carry out agent banking on behalf of Heritage Bank, Hunyingan Pius Mifrinso, promoter of Thy Grace, commended the bank for the approval given to him.

He assured that the services of his agency would help to bring banking services closer to the host community.

“Before now, people travel over 15km before getting to the nearest bank but with this, all that will be to an end,” Mifrinso disclosed.

•Photo shows, L-R; Roseline Hunyigan; Head of Agent Banking, Heritage Bank Plc, Yusuf Adeojo; an agent, owner of Thy Grace, Corner Shop, Hunyingan Mifrinso; Zonal Business Coordinator, South-West, South-South, Agent Banking, Heritage Bank, Oluwakemi Adewunmi and Experience Centre Manager, Daniel Ude, during the commissioning of Thy Grace one of Heritage Bank’s Corner Shop at Mowo Local Government, in Badagry.