CRDB BANK'S NEW MOBILE BANK PLATFORM TO BOOST FINANCIAL INCLUSION

Vice-President, Samia Suluhu Hassan cuts a ribbon to signify the launch of the new mobile bank platform in Dar es Salaam on Saturday.

CRDB bank has introduced a new mobile bank platform, SimAccount, that operates using mobile phones to simplify banking services.

Launching the new mobile bank platform in Dar es Salaam on Saturday, the Vice President Samia Hassan Suluhu said the new mobile bank platform came at the right time as most women were saving their income in pig banks.

“This SimAccount will be easy for most women to now shifting from big banks to mobile banking, “ Ms Samia said during the launch of Dar es Salaam Women Empowerment Forum. She asked women to unite under their national women empowerment forum to enable banks follow up on them instead of them to following up banks.

“The time has come for banks to come to us instead for us finishing our shoes soles looking for loans, “ she said amid a loud-cheer from some 4,000 members of Dar Women Empowerment Forum.

The Vice President challenged women to cultivate the culture of buying goods and services from one group to other in bid to increase marketing of their products. “This way we are creating our own market... But at the moment the situation is not so since most of you buy not among yourselves, “ Ms Samia said.

She also asked banks to be innovative and come up with product that would woo women entrepreneurs.

CRDB Managing Director Dr Charles Kimei said SimAccount operates similar to other mobile phone money platforms but backed with a bank account. “SimAccount is a bank on mobile phone and one can open an account using any mobile phone service operators,” Dr Kimei said.

The main difference between SimAccount and other mobile phone money services is that the former has a bank account that is either for an individual or a group-- Saccos, Vicoba or family member account.

“The group account is like a WhatsApp account and any one in the group can deposit and ask for the account statement to see amount deposited or withdrawn,” Dr Kimei said.

CRDB believes that the SimAccount will increase banks financial inclusion, which at moment stands at 17 per cent of total bankable population.

However, the country financial inclusion stands at over 75 per cent include with mobile money transaction. Dar alone has over 15,000 registered women under region empowerment forum coming from micro entrepreneurs to big investors.

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