First Global Bank (FGB) is growing its agency banking business as it seeks to penetrate deep rural Jamaica with its banking solutions.

FGB has increased its agency banking network, dubbed “MoneyLink”, which is now in 11 location spread across the island with three additions this year and more to come on stream in 2021. As the GraceKennedy (GK) banking arm, FGB is now pushing its agency banking business given COVID-19 and the necessity for bringing banking solutions to deep rural Jamaica, which is currently under served.

Agency banking occurs where existing businesses act as an agent for a banking institution offering certain basic banking services. MoneyLink makes banking more convenient through longer operational hours, giving more people access to services daily including on weekend though agent banking.

Speaking at a recent Observer Business Forum, FGB President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mariame McIntosh-Robinson disclosed that the bank has taken a strategic business decision to start its agency banking network using affiliated companies with the GK family. 

RAMPING UP AGENCY NETWORK

She told the Observer Business Forum that FGB will be ramping up its agency networking in the coming months with a direct focus on deep rural Jamaica. The FGB president and CEO pointed to the success of MoneyLink with just two years gone in the operation of the network with many success stories unfolding.

The banking services offered through Moneylink is limited to deposits, withdrawal, balance enquiry, credit card payments and money transfers. McIntosh-Robinson insists that there is a growing demand for Moneylink and agency banking in general, promising that FGB will be exploiting these opportunities.

She disclosed that FGB was planning on rolling out additional agent banking locations but COVID-19 put a halt on those plans. According to McIntosh-Robinson, “what we will admit is that because of COVID-19 and the Government’s CARE programme, we actually switch gears,” making reference to the change of plan in rolling out additional agent banking locations in 2020.

FGB then turned its attention into facilitating the Government in distributing COVID-19 monetary benefits under the CARE programme through its various locations and remittance subsidiary, in which the bank “found a simplified way of allowing more people coming into the (banking) system”. 

MONEYLINK CHEAPER WAY OF OFFERING BANKING SERVICES

McIntosh-Robinson made out a case for pushing forward with MoneyLink, which she stated is a cheaper way of offering banking services to the Jamaican public with the cost of opening bank branches. According to the FGB boss, “the cost to open a branch is so expensive, as what we are doing (with MoneyLink) is using the existing business infrastructure and team members compared to the cost of operating a branch.

The cost for operating an agent banking location, she described as “miniscule”. McIntosh-Robinson spoke about the regulatory environment for agency banking noting that each business approached as a location for agency banking has to be approved by the Bank of Jamaica.

In addition, the operators of these businesses have to pass fit and proper tests set by the banking regulators before any agent banking operations can take place. Turning to the growth in depositors, McIntosh-Robinson made mention of the spike in new customers, as a result of CARE payments going through the bank to be distributed to beneficiaries.

Almost 11,000 beneficiaries signed on as depositors but this has bottomed out to 7,500 active account holders, as many of the beneficiaries didn’t maintain their banking accounts.