Dfcu Bank customers can now access Agent Banking services at select Shell fuel stations across the country. This follows an official announcement of a strategic partnership between Vivo Energy Uganda and dfcu bank at Shell Banda.
Through Agent banking, dfcu Bank is extending select financial services to the unbanked and under banked in easy to access locations across the country. Services include making cash deposits and withdrawals; balance enquiries; generating mini-statements; paying utility bills; school fees and also carrying out transfers. Customers can also originate account opening.
Speaking at the launch, the dfcu Chief Executive Officer Mathias Katamba said, “dfcu Agent Banking is a promising strategy in driving financial inclusion by taking a broad range of financial services closer to our customers. We are optimistic it will add a sizeable percentage of the population to the formal banking system while decreasing the Banks cost to serve. With this partnership with Vivo Energy Uganda and many more to come, there is no doubt that we are on track to extending financial services more conveniently to our customers.”
“In line with our digitization agenda, we are complementing Agent Banking with an instant free account opening platform that will enable customers to acquire dfcu bank accounts in less than five minutes. Ultimately this is a step towards changing the way we do business,” Katamba added.
Gilbert Assi, the Managing Director, Vivo Energy Uganda said that Vivo Energy has invested in convenience retailing to offer a wider range of services to both customers who fuel and service their vehicles at Shell service stations, as well as walk in customers:
“The partnership with dfcu Bank continues to reaffirm what we have always said and believed in that convenience retail is an extension of our core business at Shell service stations. I am pleased that our customers can now access some banking services at Shell Stations like making cash deposits and withdrawals; balance enquiries; generating mini-statements; paying utility bills; school fees, carrying out transfers and originate the process of account opening,” noted Gilbert Assi.
“Dfcu currently has close to 1,500 agents countrywide – 40 of these are under Vivo Energy Uganda. Agents are found in easy to access locations like: gas stations, supermarkets, hardware stores, pharmacies, neighbourhood stores etc. In rural and semi urban areas the dfcu agents will play a key role in reducing the amount of time and distance customers have to cover to access banking services.”
“We are present in 154 sites countrywide and they are all possible agent banking points for dfcu. We have been investing since 2014 to develop additional services to our service stations, like the recently launched our service stations automation program and now customers are assured of quality and timely services.” Gilbert added.
Customers will soon be able to find an Agent within any location through the dfcu Agent Banking locator that will be accessible through the website the dfcu website and via USSD. By simply typing in a location of choice the locator will display at least three agents in close proximity indicating the name of the Agent and actual distance from the point of inquiry.
