Sierra Leone Commercial Bank “The Roaring Lion “on Wednesday, 27, June 2018 stormed the market with two new digital Banking products the ‘’Mi Yone SLCB Kiosk’’ and the ‘’Mi Yone SLCB Teller’’.
Formally launching the Products at the Adonkia Community, outside Freetown Mr. Idrissa Alooma Kamara, Managing Director Sierra Leone Commercial Bank informed government officials, customers, senior members and Board officials of the Bank that the ‘’Mi Yone SLCB Kiosk” is a digital outlet that provides full fledged banking services to the retail and corporate segments. The facilities of the product, amongst others, include opening of new bank accounts and businesses; salary processing; cash deposits and withdrawals; Salone money link; statement and cheque book collection; cheque deposits; EDSA and Mercury collection etc.
Mr. Kamara further informed the gathering that these outlets will initially be operational in Adonkia, Wilberforce, Freetown Teachers College, Jui and the Lungi International Airport, while plans are underway for the extension of these outlets to Makeni, Bo and Kenema in the not distant future.
‘’ We are extending access to financial services to the informal sector by providing opportunities for lending to the Manufacturing and Agricultural sectors in line with the New Direction of Government ‘’, he noted.
The Managing Director also disclosed that the ‘’Mi Yone SLCB Teller’’ is a novelty mobile banking service reaching out to the unbanked and underserved communities at homes, hospitals, universities and offices etc.
The highly confident and innovative Managing Director stated that his management has once again restructured the Lion as the roaring dominant brand in the banking sector in the country by targeting 250,000 accounts through the launching of these new products. He indicated that the targets will primarily focus on non account holders which according to him will increase financial inclusion; improve financial literacy and provide multiple financial access points.
The SLCB Managing Director called on Sierra Leoneans to patronize the Bank and open new accounts using these new and accessible products.
He used the occasion to inform members of the public that he has positioned the bank for superior service delivery, unique customer experience and securing clients and markets through automation.
‘’Thanks to the good works of my predecessors. We are also now building on their legacies to improve their business performance and increase shareholders value. In spite of the sobering challenges which are not unique to Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, today I am pleased to report that the Bank is safe and sound .With very strong commitments to sound banking practice, we have maintained strong liquidity and restored capital through profit retention .We have reinvented our selves as crisis over-comers and our battle tested approved to once again structure this lion as the roaring dominant brand in the banking sector,’’ the Managing Director highlighted.
Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Patricia Lavally applauded and congratulated the Managing Director and team of the SLCB for introducing these products which according to her will lead to financial inclusion in the country. She noted that the government is always willing to provide support to financial institutions especially state owned banks to make them competitive with the key objective of enhancing financial inclusion.
‘’For us at the Ministry of Finance, today marked yet another milestone in our financial inclusion efforts, the ministry is always encouraged when such products are launched in the country as this will eventually contribute to the development of the economy ,’’ the deputy minister noted .
The launch of the new products according to Dr. Lavally is a clear manifestation on the part of the bank’s management to respond to the needs of their customers by providing retail payment systems.
She urged residents of the Adonkia, Lumley and Wilberforce communities to make use of the new products and open up new accounts, while urging the Managing Director and his team to open up 19 more outlets across the country as earlier promised.
She concluded by reiterating the importance of working together in addressing common challenges as they strive to enable more and more people to benefit from financial services .
Dr. Patrick Conteh, Governor Bank of Sierra Leone, while delivering his statement started by justifying his presence at the occasion.
According to the Governor, he was at the occasion to add his voice to the need for financial inclusion in the country since the exclusion rate is very appalling. He applauded the move by SLCB to launch these products, noting that this will enhance financial inclusion which is tied –up squarely with the Bank of Sierra Leone’s three -year national strategy for financial inclusion.
Dr. Conteh thanked the SLCB management for being the first mover in articulating, visualizing and bringing to reality the intentions of President Bio who had outlined in his State Opening of Parliament Address that financial inclusion is critical to the development of the economy and that all efforts must be made to deepen the sector in terms of outreach, cost and efficiency.
The launch of the ‘’Mi Yone SLCB Kiosk” and the “Mi Yone SLCB Teller “products, he further noted, cannot have come at a more better time in keeping with the call of the Bank of Sierra Leone for Banks and other non Bank financial institutions to do much more in support of the Bank efforts at promoting financial inclusion through the introduction of innovative and affordable products and services that would attract the unbanked into the formal financial system.
The Bank of Sierra Leone, Dr. Patrick Conteh disclosed, made very strong commitment in February this year to support the expansion of the scale, scope and reach of financial services in the country including the provision of digital financial services.
He highlighted that 86 out of 191 Chiefdoms in Sierra Leone do not have financial services access points, while there still exists a larger proportion of financially excluded population.
‘’As at last count, we have slightly over 500,000 (five hundred thousand) Sierra Leoneans who have received a loan from a financial institution in Sierra Leone. These are challenges he noted must be collectively addressed to support the development of the financial sector, the low penetration rate present opportunities for financial institutions like the SLCB, to leverage appropriate technology and expand financial services delivery in order to meet the growing demands of the new generation. This, according to him, will also contribute to enhancing the operational efficiency of these institutions especially in rural areas where the cost of operating Bank branches is relatively very high ’’, the Bank Governor noted.
He urged Commercial Banks to use this opportunity to map out potential financial access points for the creation of far-reaching financial inclusion footprints in Sierra Leone while expressing support for the SLCB in their quest to use digital means to create financial access points not only in Freetown but across the country in the months and years ahead.
He emphasized that, the Central Bank is committed to supporting the efforts of Commercial Banks through the creation of the enabling regulatory and supervisory environment to support efforts in developing the digital financial services landscape as part of their overarching responsibility of promoting the delivering of financial banking services to the unbanked and disadvantaged groups and also complementing the current government efforts to achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth to alleviate poverty across Sierra Leone .
Chairman National Commission for Privatization Commission, (NCP) Lawyer Umaru Napoleon Koroma, also congratulated the Managing Director and his team for launching these products. He noted that the sector is growing rapidly as evidenced by the launching of these products.
Mr. Koroma stated that, the SLCB over the years, has overhauled its Information Technology infrastructure to be in a strong position to deliver digital banking services to its customers.
The launching according to the NCP Chairman, could not have come at a time like this when the need for financial inclusion is a clarion call around the world. Banking, he noted has now moved away from the traditional environment to the doorsteps of the people.
He concluded by urging the Management of the SLCB to roll out these products across the country to the far North in Falaba ,to the far East in Kailahun, Waterloo and Bombali while committing the support of the NCP under his leadership to support financial growth .
The head man of Adonkia community thanked SLCB and government dignitaries present for the launching of these new products in their communities .He assured the Bank and other dignitaries present that the Adonkia community and the York Rural District will protect and secure the bank tellers at all times.
The climax of the occasion was the formal launch of the two new products by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Patricia Lavally.