BY MICHAEL EBOH & ONOZURE DANIA

As parts of efforts towards boosting Nigeria’s income profile while reducing the country’s debt Access Bank Plc has introduced a trade finance product that will help Nigeria save about N3 billion on a yearly basis.

Speaking at the launch of Access Trade in Lagos, Mr. Banjo Adegbohungbe, Group Head, Global Trade and Payments, Access Bank, noted that the product which is targeted at importers and exporters, is designed primarily to simplify trade finance and transactions in the country and will help boost the country’s revenue profile in the near future.

He further stated that the Bank, as parts of its efforts at ensuring that trade is simplified, has entered into consultations with the Central Bank of Nigeria on the digitization of FORM M which is presently done as a physical form to further simplify trade transactions.

Adegbohungbe said that the product is set to change the face of trade finance in Nigeria,  facilitating seamless trade transaction between the bank’s customers and their trade partners in any part of the world.  The product, he explained, is a web-enabled application which supports online, real-time initiation and tracking of transaction by customers of the Bank.