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DIAMOND BANK SELECTS PAGA TO DELIVER BRANCHLESS FINANCIAL SERVICES

Lagos, Nigeria - Paga, an innovative financial services company has been selected by Diamond Bank to deliver branchless financial services to their customers.

Through the partnership Diamond Bank customers will be able to link their bank accounts to their Paga accounts - permitting them to perform transactions on Paga directly from their bank account. Customers will be able to perform a variety of transactions including money transfers and bill payments. Over time Diamond Bank will leverage Paga's agent network to offer its banking products to the un-banked.

Paga, founded in 2009, is a home-grown money transfer service with a mission to deliver innovative and universal access to financial services for all Africans. The company's initial set of products are meeting the critical needs of the Nigerian public: ability to transfer money to anyone fast and reliably, pay bills, top-up airtime or pay merchants safely. Paga delivers these services via the mobile phone, internet, and a nationwide network of agents.

Speaking on the partnership, Dr Alex Otti, Group Managing Director of Diamond Bank, remarked "Diamond Bank is committed to delivering excellent banking services to its customers as well as devising new ways of reaching new customers. Expanding the reach of formal banking is vital to our long-term strategy and in due course Paga will allow us to reach a new segment of the population."

Also commenting on the partnership, Mr Tayo Oviosu, Founder and CEO of Paga said "Paga aims to work with strong Banks and Microfinance Institutions who share our mission of bringing affordable financial services to the un-banked. Diamond Bank is a leader in retail banking and has been very innovative in thinking how to extend banking services to the un-banked. This partnership and others we will forge will help us achieve our goals and bring banking to the door step of every Nigerian."

Mr. Garry Marsh, Senior Advisor Retail & Private Banking of Diamond Bank remarked "We have been on this journey with Paga for well over a year now. The selection of Paga is a result of the company consistently executing on its plans and proving to our team that not only do they have a robust platform but they are able to deliver. We look forward to working with Paga over the coming months and years, bringing financial services to the un-banked..."

Mr. Jay Alabraba, Paga Co-founder and Director of Sales & Business Development, added: "With over 59 million un-banked adults in Nigeria, finding new ways of reaching out to this market is a major challenge for Banks. There needs to be new ways of thinking and innovation in the banking sector. Diamond Bank is definitely ahead of the game in finding new ways of reaching customers. We applaud Diamond Bank for taking the bold first step towards delivering branchless financial services to the un-banked."

Paga works on the most basic SMS enabled phones and on all mobile networks, so users have the liberty to access their Paga account regardless of what handset or mobile network they use. Even more, recipients do not need to register on Paga in order to collect cash sent to them - they can simply visit a Paga agent and shortly - any Diamond bank branch or ATM to get their cash.