Source: FBC opens Gwanda service centre to bring banking services closer to customers – herald
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu sukulwenkosi.dube@chronicle.co.zw
GWANDA residents and businesses will no longer have to travel to Bulawayo or Zvishavane to access selected FBC financial services following the opening of a new service centre in the Matabeleland South provincial capital.
The new facility, located at the Nssa Complex, is expected to reduce the cost and inconvenience of accessing banking and financial services for residents while providing cross-border traders and travellers with a safer way to manage their money when travelling to South Africa.
The service centre offers banking solutions through FBC Bank and Crown Bank, insurance services through FBC Insurance and micro-financing facilities through Micro Plan.
One of the key products being introduced to the Gwanda market is the FBC Rand MasterCard, a South African rand-denominated payment solution designed to meet the needs of cross-border traders and travellers.
The card allows clients to load South African currency directly onto the card for use in South Africa and on international MasterCard platforms, reducing the need to carry large amounts of cash.
In an interview, FBC Holdings head of group marketing Mr Roy Nyakunuwa said the new service centre formed part of the financial services group’s strategy to bring services closer to customers.
“We are commissioning an FBC service centre in Gwanda today. The service centre offers banking solutions for FBC Bank and Crown Bank. It also offers insurance solutions through FBC
Insurance and micro financing through Micro Plan,” he said.
“Micro Plan was already existing in Gwanda but we have moved it to the new service centre in Nssa Complex.”
Mr Nyakunuwa said customers would be able to open accounts, apply for loans, obtain MasterCards and access other banking services at the centre.
He said the Rand MasterCard was particularly suited to Gwanda because of the town’s proximity to South Africa and the significant movement of traders between Gwanda, Musina and Johannesburg.
“One of the most interesting solutions we have for the Gwanda market is the FBC Rand MasterCard. This is a MasterCard purely denominated in Rands where clients can directly load their Rands onto the card,” said Mr Nyakunuwa.
The product, he said, would help reduce the security risks associated with carrying large amounts of cash while travelling.
Mr Nyakunuwa said there had been reports of travellers being robbed while travelling along the highway to South Africa carrying substantial sums of money.
“After taking into account the proximity of Gwanda to South Africa and the trade which happens between Gwanda, Musina and Johannesburg, where people travel quite often to get wares for resale and business, we are offering a safe and secure solution which travellers can use as they travel to South Africa,” he said.
Mr Nyakunuwa said bringing services closer to customers was a deliberate response to concerns raised by clients who had previously been forced to travel long distances to access banking services.
“We are a customer-obsessed institution and we listen to what our customers say to us. Our customers were travelling from Gwanda to Bulawayo or Zvishavane to access banking services. We are now cutting that distance and we are saying we have brought banking closer to the people,” he said.
The new service centre has been welcomed by Gwanda residents, some of whom said travelling to other cities for basic banking services had been costly and inconvenient.
Ms Talent Ncube said the opening of the centre was a long-awaited development.
“It comes as a huge relief to see FBC open a branch here in Gwanda. I was even considering switching banks and moving to one which has a branch in Gwanda,” she said.
“It has been a huge inconvenience for me to be travelling to Bulawayo to get banking services. Even when faced with a small problem, I was being told that I have to visit my nearest FBC branch and that’s in Bulawayo.”
Ms Ncube said she had previously postponed replacing a worn-out ATM card because of the distance she had to travel.
“I was supposed to get my ATM card replaced because it’s worn out, but I was always contemplating because of the distance I was supposed to travel, about 130km just for an ATM card replacement,” she said.
For local businesses, the Rand MasterCard is expected to provide an additional payment option for traders who frequently travel to South Africa to source stock.
Mr Nkanyiso Moyo, a Gwanda businessman, said he intended to open an account with FBC so that he could use the Rand MasterCard when travelling to South Africa.
The development comes as Gwanda continues to expand as a mining and commercial hub, with its strategic proximity to the Beitbridge corridor creating opportunities for cross-border trade and other economic activity.
FBC Holdings has a diversified financial services portfolio covering commercial banking, mortgage financing, short-term insurance, reinsurance, securities trading and micro-financing.
Its subsidiaries include FBC Bank Limited, FBC Building Society, FBC Reinsurance, FBC Securities, Micro-Plan Financial Services and FBC Insurance.
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