Fidelity, Ghana Post to operate Post Bank

Government in the next couple of weeks is expected to endorse a deal between Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited and the Ghana Post to commence the operation of a ‘Post Bank’ in the country.

This will ensure the bank reviving and protecting the Post Office network, while providing much needed support to communities as well as small and medium scale businesses that are the backbone of the economy.

The collaboration will upgrade 200 existing strategic Post Offices nationwide within the next three years which will diversify the retail banking systems in the financial market.

Ghana Post has positioned it self to becoming the distribution center for mail to the sub-region. As of January 2003, the company has 318 Post Office and 370 Postal Agencies.

It presently has about 600 Post Offices located nationwide controlling a market share of 85% of domestic courier services and seeks to diversify its activities by taking advantage of its infrastructure and network.

Mr. Jim Baiden, Deputy Managing Director of the Bank, disclosed that the collaboration is part of the bank’s strategic initiative to rollout branches across the country.

“The Bank will contribute its retail range of services whilst the Post Office also contributes their premises, together with their money transfer and Western Union franchise.

With the collaboration one would be able to access the traditional postal services and also access banking as well at one location that is the beauty of collaboration.”

Post Bank could offer safe, reliable banking services for business and individual customers alike through the large post office network.”

The introduction of the Post Bank operations has been described by industry experts as supporting long-held Government targets to combat financial exclusion and initiating the much-needed diversity into the country’s retail banking system.

It will answer the needs of the financially excluded and will appeal to many in this time of economic uncertainty.

The Post Bank will be a true People's Bank meeting the needs of society and business alike and will bring crucial security to the post office network.

The initiative which will be formally launched by close of the year is to be executed in phases commencing with Greater Accra, Ashanti and Eastern Regions.