BPO providers have played a pivotal role as Nigeria’s financial services industry landscape has experienced significant changes over the last decade.
Technological advancements, regulatory requirements and market reforms are driving rising trends such as the shift to a non-traditional banking model, digital transformation and the fintech boom.
As customers’ expectations evolve and they seek faster processes, financial service companies have struggled to streamline financial tasks while achieving greater agility and avoiding related threats.
Over time, financial institutions of all sizes have depended on business process outsourcing (BPO) to enhance client service, improve compliance, and ensure risk-free financial services.
Reputable third-party providers like Workforce Group have helped to deliver scalable, customised solutions to boost and secure such activities.
Understanding Business Process Outsourcing
BPO involves contracting specific business processes to third-party service agents, allowing you to focus on your core competencies while benefiting from specialised expertise and operational scalability.
Providing significant cost savings and improved productivity, amongst others, is BPO’s gateway to penetrating an organisation’s finance department, encouraging companies to outsource non-core financial processes such as:
- Customer support
- Compliance and risk management
- Data entry and management
- Financial reporting
- Accounting and bookkeeping
- Accounts payable and receivables support, etc.
Read more the comprehensive guide to BPO, what it entails and potential benefits for your organisation. In this article, we explore the role of BPO in transforming the financial services industry in Nigeria.
1. Streamling Non-Core Processes
Managing non-core processes such as payroll processing, customer support, and data entry can be resource-intensive in the financial service sector.
Although these functions are essential, they do not directly contribute to your business’s primary goal of delivering financial solutions and growing revenue.
How BPO Helps
By delegating these non-core tasks to specialised BPO providers like Workforce Group, financial institutions can offload administrative burdens and channel resources toward more strategic activities.
For example, a bank can outsource customer service operations to our contact centre experts, ensuring a high-quality customer experience while focusing on product innovation and market expansion.
2. Driving Cost Efficiency
As we navigate economic uncertainties and fluctuating market conditions, cost optimisation remains a top priority for financial services companies in Nigeria.
Hiring and maintaining in-house teams for non-core functions can lead to high overhead expenses, including salaries, infrastructure, and technology investments.
How BPO Helps:
Leading BPO service providers offer cost-efficient solutions by leveraging economies of scale, ensuring your financial institution can access world-class infrastructure and expertise without bearing the full cost of ownership.
This allows you to convert fixed costs into variable expenses, paying only for your needed services. For example, outsourcing IT support and maintenance can significantly reduce expenses compared to hiring and training an in-house IT team.
3. Enhancing Compliance and Risk Management
The financial services landscape in Nigeria is heavily regulated, with institutions required to comply with laws such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guidelines, anti-money laundering (AML/CFT) regulations, and data protection standards.
Non-compliance can result in loss of customer trust, severe penalties, and reputational damage.
How BPO Helps
With more than 20 years of expertise in Nigeria’s financial sector, we understand the intricacies of regulatory compliance, ensuring that your outsourced functions comply with set standards, reducing the risk of non-compliance.
For example, in handling customer data management, we implement advanced security protocols to comply with the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), safeguarding sensitive customer information.
4. Facilitating Digital Transformation
As mentioned earlier, digital banking has gained momentum in Nigeria over the last decade. As such, financial institutions must adopt advanced technologies to remain competitive.
However, implementing and managing these technologies in-house can take time and effort, particularly for smaller and mid-sized firms with limited resources.
How BPO Helps
Reputable BPO partners often have access to platforms and cutting-edge tools that enable financial institutions to accelerate their digital transformation.
Whether automating back-office operations or implementing AI-driven customer service solutions, BPO service providers bring the technological competence needed to thrive in the digital era.
For example, a fintech company outsourcing its data analytics processes to an expert BPO outsourcing provider can gain insights into customer behaviour, enabling it to offer personalised financial solutions and improve customer retention.
5. Improving Customer Experience
Nigeria’s financial sector is a highly competitive market with global and Pan-African organisations seeking customer’s attention.
Over time, a major differentiator for Nigerian customers has been the customer experience. Customers expect quick, seamless, personalised services across all touchpoints, from account inquiries to loan applications.
How BPO Helps
Reputable BPO providers are equipped with multilingual support teams, multichannel systems, and advanced CRM tools that can handle high volumes of inquiries while maintaining service quality.
For example, outsourcing a bank’s 24/7 customer support to Workforce Group’s contact centre can guarantee round-the-clock assistance, improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.
6. Enabling Scalability and Flexibility
As mentioned earlier, the financial services industry often experiences demand fluctuations due to economic cycles, regulatory changes, or market trends. Managing such variability in-house can be challenging, as it requires scaling resources up or down quickly.
How BPO Helps
BPO providers offer scalable solutions that adapt to your company’s needs. Whether expanding operations during peak periods or downsizing during slow seasons, Workforce Group provides the flexibility required to navigate changing business landscapes.
During a government-led financial inclusion drive, we partnered with a leading Nigerian bank to scale up its account opening processes, enabling it to onboard thousands of new customers within a short time frame.
7. Focusing on Innovation and Core Competencies
Driven by competition and rapid technological advancements, financial institutions must continuously innovate to stay ahead. However, managing day-to-day operations can limit the time and resources available for innovation.
How BPO Helps
By outsourcing routine and repetitive tasks, you can focus on developing new financial products, expanding into untapped markets, building stronger customer relationships or other core competencies.
For example, outsourcing loan processing allows a bank to concentrate on designing innovative credit products tailored to Nigeria’s underserved markets, driving financial inclusion and revenue growth.
Conclusion
Despite the well-pronounced benefits of BPO providers, outsourcing financial services remains challenging for many financial service providers. This is because of the sensitivity of finance and accounting processes, such as personal and bank account data.
As the financial industry evolves, embracing BPO will be crucial for banks, fintech companies, and other financial institutions aiming to stay ahead.
By leveraging the resources and expertise of leading business process outsourcing partners, you can focus on your core mission of driving business goals and industry growth.
How Workforce Group can help…
Workforce Group offers expert business process management and outsourcing services for financial service companies to ensure process optimisation and help you scale seamlessly while driving continuous improvement.
To get started on your BPO strategy, talk to our expert consultants here.
