SunTrust Bank formally open for business today as it seeks to reshape the Nigerian banking space and the way consumers interface with their banks.
At its headquarters on Oladele Olashore street in Victoria Island Lagos, there is minimal security presence, no generator noise, bank customers who come in there will find a banking hall equipped with computer terminals for customers seeking a well secured computing link.
According to Muhammed Jubrin, SunTrust Bank’s CEO, “our vision is to offer high quality retail and commercial banking services in a modern and innovative manner. We will use technology and a new way of thinking to provide banking services to many people and businesses in Nigeria for whom access to a bank account has previously been impossible.
“We will offer telephone, mobile and Internet banking underpinned by the traditional banking ethics of probity and integrity.”
The bank’s competitive edge will be the strong reliance on technology and the bank will be encouraging customers to access its services from the comfort of their homes and offices and as such the bank will not be engaging in a proliferation of branches.
“Our services will be available to our customers 24 hours daily, seven days a week and from anywhere in the world where there is a good Internet service.
By adopting a branchless strategy, SunTrust will save the N100m-N120M required to build a modern branch and the about N2.5m it costs to run the generators at a typical bank branch.
Customers of SunTrust will be encouraged to use any bank ATM because the bank will not be charging them the fee charged by other banks for using ATM machines belonging to other banks.
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