Microfinance Focus, October 20, 2011: The Diamond Bank of Nigeria has joined hands with Direct-to-consumer mobile payment service provider, Pagatech (Paga) to offer mobile banking services in Nigeria.

Under this partnership, Diamond Bank customers will be able to link their bank accounts to their Paga accounts - permitting them to perform transactions on Paga directly from their bank account. Customers will be able to perform a variety of transactions including money transfers and bill payments. Over time Diamond Bank will leverage Paga’s agent network to offer its banking products to the un-banked.

Paga works on the most basic SMS enabled phones and on all mobile networks, so users have the liberty to access their Paga account regardless of what handset or mobile network they use. Recipients do not need to register on Paga in order to collect cash sent to them – they can simply visit a Paga agent and shortly – any Diamond bank branch or ATM to get their cash.

Nigeria has over 59 million un-banked adults. “Mr Tayo Oviosu, Founder and CEO of Paga said “Paga aims to work with strong Banks and Microfinance Institutions who share our mission of bringing affordable financial services to the un-banked. This partnership and others we will forge will help us achieve our goals and bring banking to the door step of every Nigerian.”