For most people, savings are difficult to achieve and come by. But for the CashBox team, saving is a culture that must be cultivated by all. With low earnings paid to workers in both public and private sectors of the economy, it is not surprising that many Nigerians as well as other African nationals find it difficult to imbibe the habit. But saving is a habit that can be motivated and nurtured if the mind is willing and to most entrepreneurs, savings is the first step to financial independence.

Speaking recently about the mileage of savings, CEO of Cashbox, Sydney Imuetinyan Aigbogun, said savings can actually be fun to those who embrace it particularly against the backdrop of the deployment of technology which has made savings much easier than it was years.

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With a simple download of the CashBox app on Google Playstore and iOS windows, the user is guided on simple instructions on what to do and he or she (user) determines how much and frequent he can save. So easy it is that recently, the management came up with a pidgin language option to assist those who might not be proficient in the use of English to get on board and embrace savings without hassles.

Most importantly is the down-to-earth appeal of the app of CashBox which makes it easier for users to save any amount as there is no cap on how much can be save a day, week, month, or year.

“We have a very low savings bar for our users. They can save as low as N100 daily. So, no matter how high or low your earning capacity is, you can still imbibe the savings culture with CashBox. You are never too broke to save,” Aigbogun stated recently while disclosing the plan by CashBox to eliminate some of the challenges peculiar to the traditional banking model.

Meanwhile, the CashBox team also auto-assigned a Providus Bank account number to each user on its app. The function of this is to facilitate the transfer of any amount for savings from a designated account whenever the user intends to save. “This way,” Aigbogun stated, “we are able to cover for users that do not have an ATM card or users that experience a direct debit decline,” he added.

Adding her voice to the conversation is Feyikemi Adebayo, CashBox Operational Manager, who bares it all on the five unique savings options for users, comprising CashBox Instant, that, “Allows you save money from your account on the move using your card or through transfer. The amount may be as low as N100 and as much as you can. This feature allows you to save cash on the go.

“CashBox Vault, a feature that allows you to lock your cash for a 90 days period with the prospect of higher returns. In fact, users get the interest well ahead (at the beginning of the period). This helps them get more interest in monies they do not have an immediate need for.

“The CashBos Regular permits four withdrawal days across the year. If you choose to withdraw on days other than the free days, you will have to pay a percentage charge. This helps to serve as an aside piggybank for users.

“CashBox Target, that allows you to save towards a goal. For instance, a user may want to pay his or her rent or may want to pick up a car. This feature encourages long-term planning.

“The CashBox.Clique, allows you to have a savings challenge with your friends or clique. This feature is designed to encourage peer motivation. This is a form of the healthy challenge of competition”, added Adebayo.

With just two years of service delivery, CashBox has enjoyed significant traction- in spite of the fact that the founders have not raised any funds since inception. According to Sydney, they helped users save about $350,000 (three hundred and fifty thousand dollars) in the first year and have processed over N1bn (One billion naira) between January and August 2020.

Feyikemi further disclosed that the start-up has enjoyed about 40 percent month-on-month growth in 2021 with a monthly volume of N200m (two hundred million Naira) up from about N50m (fifty million Naira) in January this year.

“The interesting thing about our growth is that most of the users have come through referrals from other users. We have a very lean marketing budget but the impact has been massive”, she stressed.