Nairobi Kenya: PesaPoint has today announced that Family Bank’s
services have gone live across its over 1000 ATMs and agent banking
outlets across the country. Effectively, the bank’s customers will now
be able to access their cash at a PesaPoint ATM nearby and PesaPoint
branded ATMs and agents countrywide.
PesaPoint also announced that Family Bank’s own ATMs had been opened
up for sharing and for use by all PesaPoint partner bank customers,
following completion of a project to hook the bank onto the new
PesaPoint Interconnect engine. This development also now opens the
bank’s infrastructure for use by any cardholder in Kenya, a move that
will boost the bank’s non-interest revenue.
“I am delighted to announce that we at Family Bank have successfully
opened up our ATMs for use by all cardholders in Kenya through the
PesaPoint Interconnect engine,” said CEO, Peter Munyiri. “Customers
from other banks will be able to use our ATMs while our customers can
also access services at all PesaPoint ATMs, PesaPoint Agents
countrywide and at all other ATMs belonging to banks that have a
‘PesaPoint available here’ logo on them,” he added. Family Bank’s 120
ATMS will also be available to serve cardholders from all 30 PesaPoint
partner banks.
Bernard Matthewman-Chief Executive Officer of the Paynet Group which
PesaPoint belongs to- praised the decision by Family Bank in tapping
the power of PesaPoint and opening up its ATMs to serve all
cardholders in Kenya as “strategy in the right direction” that will
provide immediate benefits to the bank. “It will contribute to
further growth of the bank’s non-interest revenue. We are happy to
welcome Family Bank to the rapidly growing PesaPoint Interconnect
network,” he said.
The PesaPoint network will further give the shared ATMs power to
perform Mobile Money ATM Withdrawal transactions for M-PESA customers
through agent number 555 555.
Family Bank becomes the 5th Kenyan bank in Kenya, after KCB, DTB, NIC
and CfC Stanbic to wholly share its ATM infrastructure through the new
PesaPoint Interconnect engine and deliver what Mr. Munyiri called
“borderless ATM services”. “We want to lead the way for other banks in
giving Kenyans ATM and cash access points that serve any customer
regardless which bank issued their cards and at reasonable fees,” he
said.
Mr Munyiri noted that Kenyans have been paying heavily each time they
use ATMs belonging to other banks as their transaction were routed
through costly international card networks noting that sharing Family
Bank’s ATMs would help correct this. “The PesaPoint Interconnect
engine is a local financial network that is enabling the
interconnectedness of ATMs and agents, thereby helping deliver low
cost transactions at the ATMs for cardholders from other banks, who
will use our ATMs.”
Infrastructure sharing to benefit Kenyan cardholder
Kenya Bankers Association has recently been calling on banks to share
their ATM infrastructure to increase convenience to Kenyans, noting
that ATMs piled together at shopping malls around the city were
proving unprofitable.
“Installing multiple ATMs from different banks side by side at a
single location as we often see in local shopping malls is becoming
self defeating as the volumes become spread over too many acquiring
points, raising the effective cost per transaction. On the other hand,
interconnecting infrastructure allows placement of ATMs and Agents in
more strategic ways and leads to overall efficiency,” says Bernard
Matthewman.
Mr. Matthewman and Mr. Munyiri urged more banks in Kenya to open up
their ATM infrastructure for sharing, noting that this at the end
benefits the customer. “Banks are realizing that a go-it-alone
strategy is not paying the right levels of dividend. Those with large
investments in infrastructure can leverage this by opening access to
the national card base and those that have a few do not have to invest
further to attempt to catch up,” Mr Matthewman said.
Anyone who holds a card issued by about 30 PesaPoint partner banks in
Kenya can use any ATM that has a PesaPoint logo on it, while only
incurring PesaPoint transaction fees as set by their own bank, he
said.
In the recent past, Family Bank has been making strategic investments
in technology and innovation, overhauling its core banking system,
redesigning ATM infrastructure and enabling Mobile and Internet
banking, as it positions itself to serve an increased customer base
and support planned regional expansion. A mid to long term goal of
listing a competitive Family Bank at the Nairobi Securities Exchange
(NSE) have seen it reorganize its shareholding and float 40 million
shares in a successful rights issue, raising Ksh 1.3 Billion shilling
from existing pool of shareholders to finance the positioning
strategy.
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