Financial inclusion has been identified as an enabler of seven out of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals and is recognized as a key enabler in alleviating poverty and boosting sustainable growth. At the forefront of this is digitalisation. Digitalisation continues to redefine various sectors of the global economy. In sub-Saharan Africa, digitalisation continues to drive the finance sector with fintech, new innovation and technologies at the forefront.
Ghana has made significant strides in its efforts to promote financial inclusion on the back of a digital economy with the banking, finance and fintech ecosystem playing the leading role in promoting financial inclusion.
Significant Progress
Despite the significant progress made, there is still more work to be done to bridge the digital banking divide as it is estimated that 60 percent of the population remains unbanked. This presents immense opportunities for the development of innovative digital banking solutions to boost financial inclusion.
Prudential Bank, a leading indigenous bank, in its quest to champion financial inclusion through digitalization continues to collaborate, and foster strategic partnerships with Fintechs to deploy various digital touchpoints to deepen its digital footprint.
In the last two years, the bank has beefed up its digital transformation efforts by implementing various digital solutions to provide value-added services for customers.
New Products and Services
Key among new products and services are enhanced mobile banking services, mobile cash collection for small businesses using digital devices as well as savings and loans products for micro-SMEs.
Furthermore, there are plans underway to implement low KYC digital banking services to further enhance the bank’s digital banking products and services to serve the unbanked population and low-income earners. The bank is also working with strategic partners to extend credit and other financial services digitally to marginalized communities. Additional offerings have been rolled out on its mobile money wallet services in partnership with GhIPPSS and Zeepay affording customers access to financial inclusion without the need for formal bank accounts.
Payment Card Offering
The Bank’s payment card offering provides a wide range of cards including local and international debit and prepaid cards. The prepaid cards provide unbanked customers with the means to transact without being a bank account owner.
Earlier this year, the bank partnered with MasterCard to unveil two cards, Corporate and Classic, to create more value and choice for customers. The creation of these cards gives customers the opportunity to transact business across the globe with ease. The cards also provide customers with the opportunity to benefit from discounts offered by partner merchants.
PAPSS
The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) which was launched by Afreximbank to facilitate digital inter-regional payments is now operational with Prudential Bank being one of the first six banks that has fully integrated with the service. PAPSS is expected to unlock Africa’s potential, improve financial inclusion and boost cross-border trade on the continent under the AFCFTA.
Prudential Bank remains committed to championing financial inclusiveness through digitalization and will continue to pursue this agenda as a key strategic objective in positioning itself as the local Bank of choice.