First Bank of Nigeria Plc (FirstBank) has added MoneyGram to its suite of money transfer and payment services, thus making it one of the first banks in Nigeria to have the franchises of the two leading global money transfer institutions, the other being Western Union.

 

According to FirstBank’s Group Head, Product and Channels, Francis Gbenga Shobo, the acquisition of MoneyGram’s franchise is intended to deepen the Bank’s money transfer business while complementing the Western Union franchise it has enjoyed for over a decade and half.

 

 

 

 

FirstBank, by joining the MoneyGram network in Nigeria is expected to boost MoneyGram’s locations in the country with its over 580 business locations.

 

MoneyGram International Inc. is a leader in the financial services industry for global money transfer and payment services. The company first entered Nigeria in 1998 and today works with nine agent banks including FirstBank. MoneyGram which was founded in Minnesota as Travellers Express, started as a small money order operation in 1940 and first passed the billion dollar mark revenue in 2006.

 

FirstBank, on the other hand, is arguably Nigeria’s most diversified full-suite financial services group, providing over a century of dependable services. The bank was the first to introduce International Money Transfer services to the Nigerian market. With over 5 million customers, ten (10) financial subsidiaries, and presence in the UK, France, South Africa and China, the bank is indeed a national icon.