Dar Es Salaam Tanzania, June 20, 2013 – Leading Financial Services provider CRDB Bank PLC has
beat the pack to be the first bank in Tanzania to launch Agency Banking
Services dubbed “FAHARIHUDUMA” in yet another move aimed at expanding its reach
to provide services to the unbanked population in the country. Agency Banking is
a concept whereby a commercial bank
contracts an entity or individual to provide specific services on its behalf, bound
by a written contract between the bank and the ‘agent’.
Speaking
during the launch of the Service, CRDB Bank Managing Director Dr. Charles Kimei
said the Bank continues to leverage technology and innovation in its service
delivery so as to consistently provide unrivalled customer experience in the
banking industry in Tanzania and by extension Burundi.
Dr.
Kimei said: “Low incomes and high cost of banking coupled with lengthy
procedures and the obvious lack of extensive bank networks have denied many
Tanzanians the valuable financial services provided by banks and hence slowed
our development as a country”.
“As a
bank, we are committed to ensuring that reliable banking services are easily
accessible and the CRDB Agency Banking model provides just the right solution
that the financial services industry needs,” Dr. Kimei added.
The MD
noted that the CRDB Agency Banking model will provide a uniquely placed and
profitable avenue to serve the unbanked population within the existing banking environment
and subsequently grow the bank’s customer deposits by tapping into the retail
market and attracting the bottom of the pyramid. Only a marginal 12.4% of the Tanzanian population is formally banked and
this is mainly due to poor infrastructure, lack of awareness, social exclusion
and low literacy levels.
“With the
“FahariHuduma”
Servcie, all our customers will access the banking services through our appointed
agents across the country. We are working with reputed businesses, government
offices as well as other credible institutions within market centers to provide
these services on our behalf so that we cover remote and sparsely populated
areas which are often alienated due to poor infrastructure,” said Dr. Kimei.
“Tanzania Postal Corporation has formally
agreed to be one of biggest agents by letting us use their outlets country wide
for the service” added the MD. “We are also in final agreements with many other
large institutions and individuals to become our agents and help achieve this
important milestone”.
“At this initial stage, our agents will be
connected to our agency banking platform through our Point of Sales and be
equipped with a telephone set with SimBanking facility to facilitate deposit
taking and withdrawals. All the agents need to do is to open and fund an
agent float account with the Bank and we will take care of the rest,” said the
Chief Executive.
The CRDB Bank Head also explained that CRDB
Bank agents will offer a range of banking services including: card/cash deposit and withdrawal, cash
disbursements and repayment of loans, payment of utility bills, retirement and
social benefits, transfer of funds (within CRDB bank network), balance inquiry
and generation of mini statements as well as collection of documents in
relation to account opening, loan application, credit and debit card
application.
“These comprehensive services will be offered by our
agents but the number of services to be offered will be determined by the
Agent’s rating during evaluation,” He stated.
Dr. Kimei further promised Tanzanians of more
innovative and world class services still to come, “We will continue to invent new ways of delivering our products and
services in a manner that will endear the bank to its customers and agency
banking is one such channel as it not only eliminates the need for customers to
travel long distances for service but also makes it cheaper for them to access
our products and services,”
Head of Marketing, Research and Customer
Service at CRDB Bank Ms. Tully-Esther Mwambapa speaking at the function added: “In this set up, the CRDB Bank branches
will be a crucial component because the appointed agents will be linked to them
(the branches) for first level support and ensure compliance; customer service
and standards are adhered to.”
The
concept of Agency Banking has been adopted widely in other parts of the world
including neighboring Kenya and is viewed as the most cost effective strategy for
banks to expand their networks. The cost of network expansion using Brick & Mortar
(traditional branches) is expensive
in terms of construction, maintenance, hiring, rentals, communication
and infrastructure.
Last
month the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) approved CRDB Bank’s application giving it a
green light to launch the service effective May 2013. These developments come
even as the Bank continues to solidify its position as a leading financial
services provider in the region. Earlier
in the year, the bank announced impressive financial performance with a TZS107 Billion
profit that was attributed to increased customer deposits and innovative
products. Managing Director Dr. Charles Kimei believes that there is huge
potential for the bank in Tanzania and other neighbouring countries and an
active plan is in place to increase the footprint month on month.
Comments
Post a Comment