Below are excerpts from the interview: Q: Will M & A affect DiamondXtra in any way? A: No, really we have looked at all that and for us, it’s going to be a bigger DiamondXtra. It stays the way it is, and so one of the concerns that have been coming up is that ‘what happens to me?’ The message we want to put out there is that nothing changes, the prizes still keep coming and the payment will keep happening. DiamondXtra remains DiamondXtra. In fact, we are not even changing the name. As we merge, it’s going to become a bigger bank, we are stronger together, so we look forward to pushing out the products and have it out there for customers. Just imagine DiamondXtra now having all the customers in Access Bank. It’s going to be a much bigger reward scheme. How has it impacted the standard of living in view of the present state of low-purchasing power? So far, it has been fantastic and I will say one of the reasons we are bent on keeping DiamondXtra is because of some winners we have had. It is so touching when they narrate their transformational stories. If you are at the launch of Season 10, you would have witnessed some of them giving their testimonies on how it has touched and changed their lives. DiamondXtra has been a life-changer for them and for that reason, we want to continue. It is our own way of connecting with an average Nigerian and we want to continue that. Q: What is the unique selling proposition of the forthcoming season? A: The great thing here is that the season 10 is still running till the end of January, and we will launch the next season thereafter, which is a bigger and better one. We have a whole lot of amusing features this time around, and I can assure you no one will be disappointed. Q: Kindly review what’s happening in the ongoing season A: We have more winners in the current season than we had in the previous one. In fact, the total number of winners we have is 4,957, which is 5% more than what we had in season 9. We introduced a special prize category we called Educational Brand, and that Educational allowance winners get N100,000 every month for 5 years. More so, it is pertinent for everyone to know that we engaged a lot of our customers out there, we inquired the additional things they would want to see in DiamondXtra, a lot of people talked about education, rents and Season 10 was a response to the survey. We included education and rent for a year, so the individual who wins the rent for a year, get a million naira. So it has been exciting all through for the Season 10, and we made sure that the rewards go round the country. It is not just a Lagos affair, it cut across the country. It is a Nigerian thing. Q: Will Access Bank customers benefit from DiamondXtra? A: Absolutely, it will be opened to customers from both Diamond and Access Bank after the integration. Even before the integration, any Access Bank customer can open a DiamondXtra to participate. Just look at it this way, we have got the existing DiamondXtra customers, we have got the Access Bank customers who probably don’t have the DiamondXtra yet, so for Access Bank customers who want to participate, you open a DiamondXtra pocket and after the integration, we will ensure that Access Bank customers in that category get involved. So basically, DiamondXtra will become bigger. Q: What is DiamondXtra’s benefits to Diamond Bank? A: Like I said earlier, for us, it’s a great thing to know that we are touching lives and helping the Nigerian economy by encouraging people to save funds outside the financial system. So for us as a bank, we see it as a very significant way of connecting our customers and also touching lives and of course, rewarding our loyal customers. Personally, I get so excited when I see a customer who has banked with us for a number of years emerging a winner. Q: Is there any regulatory challenge? A: For regulators, the main thing is that the rules are there, just follow the rules and guidelines. And for them, what they try to find out is whether the winning process is transparent and whether the process of winning is done in a transparent manner. Once you have done that you are good. We invite them for our activities, we make sure we don’t keep them in the dark, we provide enough information for their accessibility. And again, you know our draws are validated by KPMG. We don’t just put draws, KPMG comes first to ensure that every customer who should be in the draw is selected and put in the draw before the selection process. So they monitor everything. What we do is that every N5,000 in your account gives you 1 ticket, so if you have 10,000 it gives you 2 tickets into the draw, if you have N20,000 it gives you 4. So they check if you are qualified to be in the draw and the number of tickets you can have. KMPG alongside others make sure things go well for us and the customers, there has never been any problem since we have been running this campaign. Q: Do you have any plan of reviewing the prizes? A: Yes, we are looking at that. Season 11 is around the corner and it’s coming out much bigger and interesting. Q: After the M & A, what will be the requirement for new entrants? A: We have our channels of communicating and we will make sure that every customer is engaged properly on what needs to be done, but right now, if you want to participate, we will require you open a DiamondXtra account and key into it. For existing customers, all they need to do is to increase their savings. I have always said that it is important that your money is working for you. If you check, just imagine somebody wins salary for life and you earn N100,000 every month for 20 years. I will rather have my funds in DiamondXtra and take that chance. Q: How much have you given so far via DiamondXtra? A: I know we have given out over N5 billion and we have had over 15,000 winners since we started. For us, DiamondXtra has never been a revenue base, sometimes, it is not about how much you are making. When you look at someone who has never saved before, comes out to tell you his experience after saving, it is natural for you to just be touched and want to impact more.
