How to make money with a Nigerian bank

Posted by Felix Okoli on Thursday October 20, 2011 12:10:27:

Banks in Nigeria are big now and they do provide a couple of opportunities for people who want to make money.
Investors, professionals, students, parents, farmers and everyone has an opportunity to make money with a bank and you may either have a bank account or not.

What are the options available to make money with a Nigerian bank? Well, let me just group them:

- Using the bank's products or services
- Offering your own services
- Selling your own products

Using the bank's products or services
This simply involves using what that bank is offering to you to make money. It could be in form of investment, savings, promos, capital or loan. In order to use the bank's item to make money, you should at least have a bank account and there are various categories of bank accounts.

How do you really make the money in this case?
Accounts: Let me give an example. Most banks offer fixed deposit accounts and this is a sort of account that allows you to make money from your initial capital. You could just put in something like N200,000 and the bank would pay you interest on it on a much higher amount that savings account do. The interest for fixed deposits could be up to 10% and it would be calculated for the period you agreed to keep it fixed with the bank and the period could be 7 days, 3 months or 6 months. If you intend keeping money into a bank account for a long time, you would be losing money if it is just in a savings account, move it to a fixed deposit account. The more money you invest in a fixed account, the higher the profit you get on it. If for instance you put in N1m for 30 days and at 10% p.a., it would earn you (N1,000,000 * 0.1 * 1)/12 = N8,000. The longer you keep the money, the higher the amount of interest you would get and likewise for higher capital.

Stock options: You could also buy stocks of the bank if it is listed on the Nigerian stock exchange. Before buying into the shares of any company, like a bank, make sure you know its market condition and do a bit of research. Better to buy shares when prices are low and sell when high or after your desired capital appreciation has been met. Share prices of banks in Nigeria normally fall towards the end of the year and mostly after companies have closed their financial year and rises when the market reaches it peak around March. This is a more viable option to make money with a bank if you know when to buy and sell. All you will need are the funds, stockbroker and possibly online access to your CSCS account

Loans:
This involves simply taking a loan from a bank to invest in a business with higher returns and one that you really have experience in a a good chance of succeeding in. A lot of people are simply poor or making less money just because they don't have capital. You never know what a bank loan can do for you until you get it. Imagine if you are into a business that earns 40% turnover and you secure a loan from the bank at 20%. Now, this is a good reason to get a loan from the bank as you only settle them back 20% and keep 20%. Before taking a loan from the bank, make sure that you've done a good feasibility report of what you want to invest in, have a good banking statement for some months and

Offering your own services
You can make money with Nigerian banks if you also offer your services or products to the bank. There are several services banks need from people that they don't want to bother providing for themselves. You would need to secure something like a contract with the bank and be able to meet the demands. Getting a contract with a bank would involve following protocol and you may have to do the followup rather than the bank seeking for your services. Banks need services like laundry, cleaning, security, computer services, other equipment maintenance and so on. If you are a software developer, you can also develop programs and apps for banks to help them operate better. If you have any other business idea of a service you think banks need, you just need to approach them and make your offer.

Selling your own products
Selling to the bank: You can make money with Nigerian banks if you also offer your products to the bank. There are several things banks would always buy from the public as they constantly need this things. Things like food, clothing, basic utilities, . You would need to secure something like a contract with the bank or branch manager in your location and be able to meet the demands. Getting a contract with a bank would involve following protocol and you may have to do the followup rather than the bank seeking for your products. They need computers, accessories, computer servicing, water dispensers, lightning, and contract staffing. If you are a real estate developer or land owner, you could also make money selling or renting your space to banks which are ever developing and expanding in Nigeria. If you have any other business idea of a product you think banks need, you just need to approach them and make your offer. You would need to have a registered company with good reputation to get noticed.

Selling through the bank
This simply involves doing your business in such as way that your bank account is used as the means of payment by your customers. Nowadays, a lot of people are using their bank accounts to just receive money from their debtors and customers. If you are doing business with your bank account, it is much better if you use it only for business so that it can be easy to account for every deposit and withdrawal. It is much better to even receive huge payments by banks rather than by cash for safety and accounting reasons. Nowadays and with internet usage on the rise, people can pay for things like house rent, heavy equipment, cars, e-books, bookings, agency fees, ticketing and so on. It is much better to let people know that they can pay you by bank rather than cash since it can serve as evidence in case of any legal issues. Banks normally keep records of their accounts for a much longer time than most other business organizations do and you can easily confirm if a payment has been made on your behalf by sms or internet banking. Most businesses in Nigeria now sell their products using banks as it provides assurance both for the seller and buyer.