Chinwendu Obienyi
Saving can be referred to deferred consumption or income not spent and is visibly seen as the main determinant of investments and growth in any economy.
According to an online report, the level of savings in developed countries, led to greater transformations of these societies over time.
To be sure, higher savings reserves mean that consumers have cushions that can help absorb overwhelming expenses without digging the hole deeper. But just as importantly, having a higher portion of income allocated to savings means that living expenses are lower – and consumers can adjust their budgets to spend a larger chunk of income on increased mortgage payments or better compensate just in case they lose their jobs.
This is also applicable to developing countries like Nigeria due to the inhabitants’ ability to cope with financial hardship which can ultimately mean that the economy might recover much faster especially in the light of the deadly coronavirus. After all, when the bills are being paid, the banks, utilities and stores can keep their doors open – and their workers employed. Thus, on both a personal and national level, maintaining a solid savings rate is one of the best cures for economic woes.
However, the savings culture is yet to be fully embraced here as the motivation to save is lacking considering the cost of living in the country at the moment.
Recent reports from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicated that the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded 2.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in December 2019, following a growth of 2.3 per cent in the previous quarter. Furthermore, GDP Per Capita in Nigeria reached $2.13 billion in December 2018 while its Gross Savings Rate was measured at 17.8 per cent in the same period.
This is an increase of 2.3 per cent when compared with 15.5 reported in the previous year and it is attributed to certain saving schemes initiated by financial institutions in Nigeria especially on the part of Access Bank Plc.
According to the bank, about 19,000 Nigerians under the DiamondXtra scheme have been rewarded with about N5.7 billion in the last 11 years.
DiamondXtra
The initaitive conceived by the defunt Diamond Bank in July 2008, was formely called Diamond SavingsXtra and then was changed to DiamondXtra in December 2013 in a bid to cater to a larger section of Nigerians. Thus, when the merger between Access Bank and Diamond Bank took place, there were fears that the savings initiative would be swept under the carpet. But much to the surprise of Nigerians, the initiative has come to stay and still stands as the longest reward scheme with Access Bank going one step for the 12th season of the scheme.
According to the bank, it wants to reward 5,027 Nigerians with N348.9 million and has added new variants to the saving scheme so as to ensure an increase of its accounts from 41 million to 100 million by 2022.
Speaking during the launch of its 12th season in Lagos recently, the Executive Director, Retail Banking, Access Bank, Victor Etuokwu, said the bank wants to continue re-inventing savings culture among Nigerians.
He said, “This initiative is aimed at targeting Nigerians as we want every household in Nigeria to have a Diamondxtra account, not just an account but to imbibe that culture of saving”.
Corroborating him, Head, Products Insights and Capabilities, Access Bank, Robert Giles, said, the bank would continue to stick to the initiative, while adding that it has made the 12th edition bigger and better for Nigerians to participate. Giles said, “We are excited about it because we are driving financial inclusion as well as savings in every hosuehold”.
How the scheme works
DiamondXtra is an interest yielding hybrid account which allows deposit of both cash and third party cheques. Hybrid means a combination of both savings and current account features. Previous winners
At one of the Quarterly, Senior Citizens and Women’s draw of the DiamondXtra season 11, a journalist with one of the national dailies, Vivian Onyebukwa, said she had been a customer of Access Bank for years, adding that she never knew she would emerge winner someday.
According to her, “I feel so happy and so excited. I never believe I would become a winner in the first place. All I had to do was to top my DiamondXtra Savings account which I started with N5000 before I constantly topped it with bigger amounts which as a result made me N500,000 richer today. I want to say a big thank you to Access Bank, I will also encourage other Nigerians especially my colleagues to partake in this initiative because this bank ends up making their customers happy”.
Kenneth Mgbeahuru, a business man, revealed that he only opened the account about four weeks, only to receive a call from the bank that he had won a million naira.
Hear him: “I had been seeing the adverts on TV and decided to open the account. After i did that, I forgot all about it but was using the account for my business transactions. I was sitting with my clients when i saw a particular number calling which i ignored. I decided to call the number back but it was not going through, then about 10 mins that number called and then i was informed i had won a million naira. I did not believe it as I had just opened the account and it was like a month.
“I decided to visit my branch and there i confirmed it, I had to pinch myself because it felt like magic. The initiative is not a scam and I want to say Access Bank will soar with this initiative. With the season 12 coming, i would not mind being a winner again as i am likely to keep saving”.
Catherine Onwusonye, a businesswoman based in Abuja, was rewarded with the DiamondXtra star prize, a Hyundai Accent car, during the Season 10 DiamondXtra Regional Prize Presentation Ceremony which held in Lagos.
Shortly after the prize presentation, Catherine told journalists that she thought it was a joke when she received the call informing her that she had won the star prize of the draw.
“I have never won anything free in my life before and I never expected that a new car would be the first free thing I would win. I want to encourage other customers to open a DiamondXtra account, you can never tell when it will be your turn.” she said.