Best Point Savings and Loans Company has launched its Mobile Banking Service to provide an all-inclusive virtual banking experience encompassing all digital services to the doorsteps of customers.
The ‘Best Mobile Banking’ product, tagged ‘Wo Phone Nie, Wo Sika Nie, can be operated on all types of phones – including the non-digital phones (‘yam phones’) – and will cover services such as payment of utility bills and any other form of money transaction.
Speaking at the launch in Accra, Managing Director for Best Point Savings and Loans, Dr. Fred Sarfo Kantanka said: “Best Mobile Banking will play a major role in ensuring convenience of service while ensuring safety for customers, following the recent increased reports of money robbery attacks in the country,” adding that the service can be operated with the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) Code *277#.
“You can do all transactions in the comfort of your home; all you do is to transfer using our USSD Code*277# and do all your transfer. You can do transfers, deposits, inter-account transfers, buy data and airtime in the comfort of your home,” Dr. Safo-Kantanka explained.
For his part, the Board Chairman of Best Point, Isaac Emmil Osei-Bonsu, said the mobile banking service comes to add onto the range of electronic products of Best Point Savings and Loans and further demonstrate the company’s digitisation agenda.
He also said this forms part of the company’s effort to give customers best banking experiences while boosting financial inclusion across the country.
In a speech, the Deputy Head of Banking Supervision Department of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Ismail Adam, lauded the initiative of Best Point Savings and Loans, saying that product innovation such as the roll-out of ‘Best Mobile banking’ are consistent with the objectives and supervisory strategy of the BoG to promote financial inclusion across all sectors of the economy, especially the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMES).
“Globally, financial systems are experiencing rapid evolution mainly driven by innovation, responsive policies, customer sophistication as well as the growth of a new generation of financial services accessed through mobile phones and the Internet,” he said.
Promoting Financial inclusion
Mr. Adam noted that financial inclusion is one of the major preoccupations of the BoG, as it is a key enabler in the country’s efforts to reduce poverty and boost prosperity.
In view of this, the National Financial Inclusion and Development Strategy (NFIDS) is supporting government’s vision of increasing the availability of a broad range of affordable and quality financial services which meet the needs of all Ghanaians and are provided by sound, responsible and innovative financial institutions.
“More specifically, it seeks to increase access to formal financial services from 58 percent to 85 percent of the adult population by 2023, and to focus on relatively excluded groups,” he added.
Mr. Adam Ismail intimated that growth of the digital financial sector is also helping to advance financial inclusion in the country, adding that Ghana’s trajectory in the area of mobile financial services provides a fresh perspective to its digital transformation – and demonstrates that technology can help modernise the financial system as well as support greater participation.
However, while Ghana has made significant progress in this direction due to the growth of mobile money and other digital financial services, a substantial portion of the population still remains excluded from the financial services sector.
He advised that more targetted initiatives have to be rolled-out to increase access to financial services (both traditional and digital) for all economic actors.
He also urged savings and Loans companies to ensure that tailored, comprehensive and stringent risk management processes, policies and procedures are developed to strengthen existing customer acceptance policy – to prevent the on-boarding of persons, who seek to use their institution to further fraudulent intentions such as money laundering, terrorist financing and credit fraud.
“I want to re-emphasise the need to adopt and deeply engrain within your institution sound corporate governance practices, even as you continue to evolve and introduce new product offerings; because a lack of sound corporate governance practices not only has the potential to erode public confidence in financial institutions, but also places a strain on the public purse when such institutions fail,” he stated.
Best Point Savings and Loans
Best Point Savings and Loans Limited was licenced by the Bank of Ghana in 2013 to undertake the business of savings and loans in accordance with the Banks and Specialised Deposit-taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930). It currently has 18 branches across the country.
According to the Bank of Ghana, Best Point’s total Assets as at August 2021 was approximately GH¢360million – a 12 percent increase from the corresponding period last year. The institution has remained profitable despite effects of the pandemic. As at the end of August 2021, the institution posted a Profit-After-Tax of GH¢3.70million compared with end August 2020 at GH¢3.56million.
