Family Bank MD Peter Munyiri (L) shows CBK chief Njuguna Ndung’u how the service works as director Kimani Kabiru looks on/COURTESY
The new PESAMOB virtual bank geared at deepening financial services access by easing account opening and operation processes will run on Family Bank’s PesaPap! platform.
Primarily targeting to foster financial inclusivity to more than 5 million small and medium traders alongside unbanked mobile subscribers, the new PESAMOB virtual bank is expected to revolutionalise the local banking sector by bridging conventional banking barriers.
Speaking during the launch of PESAMOB, Family Bank Chief Executive Officer Peter Munyiri, said the Virtual Bank, is, designed to provide affordable differentiated services from conventional mobile banking solutions.
The new PESAMOB Virtual Bank, he disclosed, will provide a full suite of banking services allowing its account holders to deposit cash, transfer, withdraw over ATM locations, and access micro loan facilities conveniently. Customers can also get their salary processing done and pay County fees such as licenses, rates and rents.
The launch of PESAMOB, Munyiri further acknowledged has been inspired by the growing consumer adoption of mobile phone based financial services. Industry statistics released earlier this year, he noted, had confirmed that the number of active mobile phone financial services users (11.5 million) had more than doubled the number (5.4 million) of active bank account holders in the local banking sector.
In tandem with the growth, the use of mobile phone financial services, he pointed out had also doubled from 28pc in 2009 to 62pc in 2013, justifying the need for a fully-fledged virtual bank.
“At Family Bank, we are actively moving to change the local banking conventions as we know them by introducing such a groundbreaking banking solution as PESAMOB,” Munyiri said. And Added: “Besides boosting the national Financial inclusion goals, PESAMOB gives you the freedom to access loans, transact and save your cash without ever having to visit a physical banking hall.”
During the launch event presided over by Central Bank of Kenya Governor Prof Njuguna Ndung’u, the Family Bank boss explained that PESAMOB account holders will enjoy exclusive standard feature services such as MPESA money transfer, Airtime Purchase, Bill Payments, Balance Enquiry and provision of Mini Statements.
To enjoy the PESAMOB Virtual Bank Services, Munyiri explained that potential account holders will only need to Dial *325# from their mobile phones and follow simple prompts allowing them to activate their secure personal Virtual bank accounts.
According to the 2013 Financial Access (FinAccess) Surveys compiled by the Central Bank of Kenya and Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Kenya, Kenya’s financial inclusion landscape has undergone considerable change in recent years.
The country’s financial inclusion landscape has significantly expanded with proportion of the adult population using different forms of formal financial services now standing at 66.7pc in 2013 compared to 41.3pc in 2009.
The proportion of the adult population totally excluded from financial services has also declined to 25.4pc in 2013 from 31.4pc in 2009, easily vindicating the suitability of policy strategies and reforms by government as well as financial sector players’ initiatives and innovations such as Family Bank’s PESAPAP platform.
