By Jane B. Mansaray.
Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Sierra Leone has, in partnership with Afrimoney launched the “Put’N Pull, Quick n’ easy” with a dial *161# for easy financial services.
Delivering a statement at the launching ceremony held yesterday at GTCO, former Guaranty Trust Bank Headquarters on Wilberforce Street in Freetown, the Managing Director of GTCO Mr. Ade Adebiyi said the day marks a milestone in national financial inclusion strategy of the Government of Sierra Leone and also the regulator.
As a Bank, according to Mr. Adebiyi, they are happy and pleased to associate with the strategy, and went on to tell a story to give a journey of where we have got into today. The story is about one Saidu, who the (MD) said lives all the way in a remote area called Binkolo, who for so many years had challenges and problems in basic financial services, not until 2016 when Afrimoney got to that village; and from that time, he (Saidu) started doing basic financial services.
Since then, he could cash in and out, buy top-up, and later became restless to get a bank account, and the distance to cover to access a bank from his village was 100 kilometers. One day when he (Saidu) listened to a radio and heard the information to dial the number *3737#, he decided to open an account with the bank. This is a product he then learnt that he can use with the use of his mobile phone without internet to open an account, and without wasting time, he was able to open an account on his own.
During the launching, Mr. Adebiyi said Saidu’s problems have been solved because of Afrimoney and GTCO partnership in launching the bank wallet to wallet to link bank services, and with Afrimoney, Saidu can now open a GTBank account, get reward for his money and get whatever services he desires from the bank.
Mr. Ade Adebiyi emphasized that the launching ceremony is a good day because of the integration between Afrimoney and GTCO Bank, and the fact thatย there is now with the possibility of two thousand and sixty four thousand customers in GTBank using the service; and that can move money to the one hundred and fifty thousand customers of Afrimoney.
This collaboration between the two, Adebiyi said, will actually enhance the financial inclusion objective of government. Ten years ago, 87% of the population was unbankable, that figure, according to the (MD) has been reduced significantly by 57%. The goal, he said is to ensure such collaboration to reduce it to below 10%, and believe that what is been launched will actually ensure it happens.
“With the sixteen branches of the bank across the country, we continue to look forward to work with partners like Afrimoney so that the financial inclusion objective of the country would be best realised,” Mr. Ade Adebiyi pleaded.
Martison Obeng Agyei, Director of Afrimoney, said he is happy to be part of this partnership with the GTCO, which he said, paves the way or improving technology and creating benefit for customers.
Mr. Obeng Agyei acknowledged the huge gap in financial inclusion, but assured that the new brand launched will meet customers` need, and make possible for the collaboration.
He noted that the sixteen branches of GTCO across the nation which he said, Afrimoney has access to and with this cooperation, Obeng assured them to open six thousand new branches for GTCO, where customers will move to have access to the services by dialing *161# and move money from your wallet to Afrimoney.
According to Director Agyei this system will reduce cost analysis and time, by accessing the nearest agent. He also gave the story of one Abass, a dealer in Freetown who now saves a lot of risk, and not having any encounter with any GTCO staff. The service is working at every 24 hours in a week, with 99% percent availability.
