EBank distributes thousands of debit cards

NAMIBIA’S first branch-less bank EBank has distributed several thousand debit cards to date, and the number and value of debit card transactions are multiplying each month, the bank’s head of sales and distribution Bronwen Chase said in an interview.

According to her, the bank is very satisfied with the introduction, roll-out and take-up of its Master Card debit cards.

EBank officially launched its EBank Easy and EBank Smart debit card offerings to the public in September last year.

These debit cards, issued by EBank under a principal licence awarded by Master Card, give clients access to millions of retailers and automated teller machines which accept Master Card payments nationally and in over 210 countries.

Chase further said the bank has opened accounts for over 40 000 individuals to date.

“Our aim for 2016 is to provide services that will encourage clients to use EBank accounts more and more frequently,” she noted, adding that the EBank Smart account specifically is a very competitively-priced product, which also offers clients the ability to transact internationally through their Smart Debit card.

She further said EBank will have focused campaigns to roll out the EBank Smart account during the course of this year.

“We challenge ourselves to continuously build a bank that will meet the needs and be accessible for all Namibians. Thus, the market can continue to expect new products, new services, new channels and new client engagement models from EBank,” she said.

When asked whether 2016 comes with new challeges for EBank, Chase said the banking industry in Namibia is changing rapidly, and there are several new entrants to the sector and different projects being driven by the Bank of Namibia and the payments’ industry.

“EBank is privileged to have a team of dedicated, skilled individuals who can navigate the business through changing industry requirements, while simultaneously building the different aspects of the bank,” she stated.

“Our vision as EBank is to be Namibia’s most accessible bank – providing banking products and services to all Namibians. As a start-up company, we started at a point — that is, we launched a transaction and linked a 32-day notice savings account for individuals in November 2014,” she said, noting that since then, they have built on that offering to clients, rolling out new products like a Master Card debit card and new services such as client service centres.

She further said the bank will continue on this journey of innovation until it has a full suite of products and services to fulfil their vision.

“For 2016, our focus is to build our offerings in foreign exchange services for individual and corporate clients, as well as to develop a set of credit products for corporate and individual clients, which we have already started to roll out since the beginning of this year,” she said. EBank also plans to develop and roll out a business account.

EBank’s financial year ends in March, which will also mark the bank’s first full year in operation.

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