Fidelity Bank has taken formal banking closer to the public, with the introduction of agency banking, which allows the bank to use shops and supermarkets as agents to extend basic banking services to the public.
The pioneer banking model is currently licensed only to Fidelity Bank and comes in handy when a large chunk of the public remain unbanked in a formal way.
The bank will call its agents, Fidelity Smart Agents and they will become the conduits through which any member of the public can open a full bank account, called the Fidelity Smart Account, and receive an instant ATM card in five minutes.
The bank has formed a team, Fidelity Financial Inclusion Team, which is currently conducting road shows to whip up interest in the product and service.
The team has visited the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi, and held a float from its Suame branch and continued through some principal streets amidst pomp and pageantry.
The Head of Agency Banking at Fidelity Bank, Mr Emmanuel Hudson, assured current and prospective clients that their money were safe because Smart Agents were duly trained and certified by Fidelity Bank to conduct financial transactions.
According to the Head of Smart Account Sales at Fidelity Bank, Mr Agyemang Duah Agyekum, the Smart Account was a carefully crafted product by the bank to meet the banking needs of people from all walks of life, but particularly lower-income persons.