Sterling Bank Plc at the weekend unveiled Africa’s first free banking services for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) christened Sterling CARES initiated to empower the NGOs.
Unveiled in partnership with Sterling One Foundation, the bank disclosed that the new product would allow NGOs to operate their corporate accounts without account maintenance fee (AMF) and transaction charges.
This was disclosed in a statement by Chief Executive Officer, Sterling One Foundation, Olapeju Ibekwe after the product was unveiled Friday, saying the only applicable charge on the account is for SMS notifications.
Ibekwe said the Sterling CARES “is open only to NGOs, legal entities operated for a social benefit. It is introduced to help them keep costs down at this challenging time when their work and support is needed now more than ever by people with a low socio-economic background.”
Ibekwe, thus, urged the NGO in the country to take advantage of the novel Sterling CARES account to keep costs low. She outlined how Sterling Bank wants to support and further empower the NGOs by removing transaction fees and other charges so that they can focus on making a difference.
According to her, the product is exclusive to nonprofit organisations who are the primary foot soldiers working to attain the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for all. It is not open to religiously shaped institutions, cooperative societies, schools, and associations.
She said: “We recognise that nonprofits help lots of people who are struggling to make ends meet through donations and various interventions. However, funding is one of the leading challenges currently facing the NGOs.
She noted that alternative sources of income, charitable contributions, and funding for their various programs and services “are drying up, no thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sterling CARES is a child of necessity introduced to support financing of the Sustainable Development Goals via fee-free banking for nonprofits.
“With its introduction, everyday banking transactions are now at no cost. The era of payment of bank charges by nonprofits is over! They can now bring their banking cost down and do more with the savings from account maintenance fees and transactions related charges.
“Additional benefits include access to a full bouquet of online banking services and a donation link on the website of nonprofits for receiving local and international transfers,” she informs.
Olapeju added that account holders also get to benefit from the partnership with giving.ng, Africa’s foremost crowd-funding platform that offers free services and gives grants to fundraisers focused on driving social impact in the society.
Quoted in the statement, Executive Director, Nigeria Network of NGOs, Mr. Oyebisi Oluseyi said the nonprofit membership body “is delighted to receive the news of the introduction of Sterling CARES and its benefits. We are delighted to receive the news of the introduction of Sterling CARES by Sterling Bank Plc in partnership with Sterling One Foundation.
“This novel product is a declaration of support by the Bank and Foundation for those committed to social impact work and the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria. It is indeed a landmark nonprofit banking product in our history and on the African continent that we know of.
“This will go a long way in further increasing both the social and economic impact of Nigerian nonprofits while contributing to the good work nonprofit organisations do across the country in the areas of environment, respect for human rights, and improve the welfare of the disadvantaged including freeing up ore resources to scale nonprofit solutions.
“Once again, Sterling Bank and Sterling One Foundation have demonstrated commitment to helping the Nigerian nonprofit sector to thrive and also strengthen their financial management processes at a time when COVID-19 has affected the sector’s operations.
The cost savings benefits from Sterling CARES will support nonprofits in playing their essential role of providing services to and representing the needs of poor and marginalised populations in rural and urban communities across the country,” the executive director said in his statement.
