The progress that Rwanda has made so far is testament to how digital transformation can drive economic growth. As the country pushes forward with its development agenda, a cashless economy is what the country envisions. To fully achieve this vision, businesses, large and small, and financial institutions have to embrace e-payments.
Rwanda is therefore positioning itself in places where it could leapfrog into the digital revolution and become one of the most advanced e-societies in Africa
To support Rwanda’s digital transformation, Bank of Kigali, the country’s leading commercial bank, has been impeccably involved in introducing innovative products and services that are not just digitally induced but also looks to tap into the underserved segments of the economy and population demographics like the youth and the unbanked to promote financial inclusion.
The BK Head of Customer Experience Management, Rose Ngabire, says the bank is supporting government policy of achieving a cashless economy and working towards churning out digital products on the financial market that drastically reduce turnaround time and cost of transaction, expand digital market base and promote financial inclusion in Rwanda and across boarders.
“As an institution we play a role of optimizing synergies between customers with their financial needs like credit risk management, innovation, customer private data and financial education,” she says.
Information has now become the currency of all economic activity and internet is the medium through which this information travels.
“This evolution therefore simplifies a lot of work; for instance, a consumer paying their bill electronically builds up a credit history and, because there’s a credit history, they are now able to secure loans, which enables investment and economic growth for the country in general,” considers Ngabire.
According to its recent financial report, the bank has digital agents in all branches, 68 branches across the country, 96 ATMS, and 1,891 Point Of Sale (POS) Terminals that accept most international cards including VISA and MasterCard.
Ngabire affirms that the bank’s digital vision of ‘Give anyone, anywhere the best customer experience through digital’ supports the government policy of achieving a cashless economy.
BK DIGITAL PRODUCTS
BK Quick
This digital product which was launched in May 2018 enables BK customers to borrow from their bank and acquire the loan amount from their mobile phones instantly by dialing *334#. The loan amount can go up to five hundred thousand Rwanda francs (Rwf 500,000) and is repayable in a period of your choice ranging from one to six months.
The savings are also performed from a mobile phone and the customer has a flexibility to set their most convenient savings plan.
Using such a product helps customers to save time as they don’t have to queue at the bank and removes risks of moving with cash.
The product comes in mainly to enable small business and retail workers to have seamless and safe access to bank services on their phones for their everyday transactions.
Online Banking
This is another platform that provides avenue to access bank services and transact digitally by using a smartphone and access to internet. A password is generated which the customer uses to access bank information pertaining to their account. Some of the services offered include balance enquiry, making funds transfer or payment of bills and many more.
To register for this product, is easy and quick. Just head over to your nearest bank, you will be given a personal access code to always use for verification purposes. There’s no need for downloading the app.
BK App
A mobile application for both Android and i0s phones was developed and with just a few taps of downloading the app and logging in, the customer is ready to transact, make payments and manage money on the go.
With this application you can monitor all your bank accounts in real time, view your account balances, get mini statement, transfer funds, pay bills, buy utilities, request checkbook, view exchange rates, get SMS and email notifications about any movement on your account and more.
USSD Code
With its aim to achieve financial inclusion, the bank has an option for features to use without access to the internet. By dialing *334# on a feature phone, the USSD code will lead you to your accounts by using the user identification details needed to login.