By Abakarr Harding
In order to continue providing qualitative services for their numerous esteemed customers and subscribers, the Rokel Commercial Bank and Afrimoney on the 18 November 2022 have launched an integration system during a snap event that took place at the Juba RCBank branch in Freetown.
Present were officials of the two institutions including the Managing Director of the Rokel Commercial Bank, Dr. Ekundayo Walton Gilpin, the Director of AfriMoney, Martinson Obeng-Agyei, some customers, subscribers and members of the Fourth Estate.
In a welcome address, the Business Centre Manager of Rokel Commercial Bank, Umaru Shyllon, stated that the collaboration between RCBank and Afrimoney signifies hi tech and digital banking, adding that since both entities cannot compete with each other it was therefore necessary for a collaboration to take place.
He said the process has been a long journey for RCBank, which is one of the leading banks in the country and Africell which is a telecommunication company with a broad subscriber base.
The Business Centre Manager furthered how the launching conforms to the financial inclusion drive that the RCBank Managing Director, Dr. Gilpin, has been working towards actualizing, according to the Central Bank’s policy right across the country.
“The collaboration shows that the financial drive inclusion is moving,” he maintained stating that the partnership will enable RCBank customers and Afrimoney subscribers to get money from their accounts to their wallets,” he disclosed saying what that means is that transactions are brought to the doorsteps of customers and subscribers underscoring how such could help RCBank customers that are far away from the bank to get access to their accounts without going to the bank.
Managing Director of RCBank, Dr. Gilpin, in his statement, said that the aspect of financial access points means the average time individuals would be able to get access to their money at anytime and do whatever they want to do with it.
According to him, they are coming together to improve the financial sector by introducing latest initiatives within the financial and banking sector adding that the collaboration is key to enhance financial inclusion in which one can access Afrimoney and banking services at anytime and anywhere.
Dr Glipin stated that with the over six thousand Afrimoney agents within the country the RCBank will be able to come out to where they would want to be.
“With this partnership between Africell and RCBank customers will have easy access to their monies and can be able to deposit into their RCBank accounts using their Afrimoney wallet and as well withdraw from their RCBank accounts into their Afrimoney wallets,” he stated.
The Director of Finance, Rokel Commercial Bank, Abassie Thomas stated that the RCbank and Africell are not just ordinary companies but have become brand names. He went further to intimate that the bank provides formal services to their customers and that Afrimoney though part of the formal sector but mostly provides services in informal ways and so therefore the collaboration forged between the two entities demonstrate financial inclusion which will help their customers get smooth access to their monies.
Abassie Thomas claimed that RCBank has taken the lead in financial inclusion within the country and so for them to team up with Afrimoney is a fantastic concept, and also a win-win situation for everybody.
Director of AfriMoney, Martison Obeng-Agyei, expressed how thrilled they are to announce the beginning of their relationship with the RCBank to provide the Bank to Wallet, Wallet to Bank service.
According to him, the service would let AfriMoney customers with RCBank bank accounts transfer money and save money at their convenience from their bank accounts to their mobile money wallets and from their mobile money wallets to their bank accounts and get the same alert if they where to come to the bank.
The Director said that with this partnership he is very hopeful that their customers will be happy especially as they will ensure that the service works on a 24 hours basis. He said whilst the bank has a specific closing time, however, on the other hand Afrimoney agents do work beyond the bank closing time.
“Even during the rain period RCBank customers would not have to go under the rain to the bank as long as there is an Afrimoney agent nearby,” he said.
