First Bank of Nig. Ltd. says its Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) dispensed over N2.8 trillion from January 2017 to December 2017.

The bank’s Group Head of E-Business, Chuma Ezirim, said in a statement in Lagos on Monday that the bank also accounted for 37 per cent bill payment services on ATMs in the nation’s banking industry.

In the statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr. Ezirim said that about 402,102 bill payments were made through Firstbank’s ATMs in 2017, while airtime worth about N1.7 billion was purchased through the machines.

The official said the bank had the highest number of ATMs, having deployed 2,897 of the machines across the country.

He said the bank would continue to cater for the financial service needs of its customers in line with its strategy to drive convenience and ease in banking.

“The bank’s ATMs have unique functional features which include bills payment, cash transfer, air-time top-up, cash deposit, among others,’’ he said.

According to him, the bill payment option is the non-cash transaction feature on the ATM that makes it easier for customers to pay for cable TV subscriptions, post-paid phone bills, and pre-booked airline tickets, among others.

He noted that the transactions could be executed through the quick teller option on any of the bank’s ATMs.

“First bank is currently responsible for over 15 per cent of inter-bank transactions and 21 per cent of airtime vending.

“As active mobile network users in Nigeria are over 142 million, and the need to recharge is in the increase, the bank’s ATMs also provide the platform for easy top-up.

“To further enhance convenience, Firstbank’s ATMs operate the cash deposit function which allows customers to deposit funds without entering a banking hall.

“The bank’s ATMs are also equipped with cardless functionality that makes it easier for non-bank customers to deposit or withdraw money from the ATMs without a debit card,” he said.

He said that the developments were aimed at meeting the needs of the bank’s customers and reaching out to the under-banked and the un-banked.

“Our mission is to remain relevant in the lives of our customers by continually working and making banking services a more convenient experience,’’ he said. (NAN)