Banking group Absa has launched its first mobile bank branch on a trial basis in the rural town of Idutywa in the Eastern Cape, where the bank’s bricks-and-mortar branch was destroyed in a fire.
The “Branch on the move” concept is designed to simulate the functionality of an entire bank branch in the form of a large container of wheels that can be set up to be fully functional anywhere in the country within 24 hours of arrival, says Absa retail markets head Arrie Rautenbach.
The bank says the Branch on the move serves as an emergency branch and does not require technology or equipment to be disassembled before being transported. The Idutywa pilot was built in six weeks to serve the town while a new bank branch is being planned.
“It will move to areas of the country to extend its banking services where renovations, fire damage, water damage, ATM bombings or even construction interrupt normal branch operations,” says Rautenbach. “This service will especially be felt in remote rural villages.”
The Branch on the move offers full banking services with two tellers, two sales consultants, a branch manager and an ATM. It also includes a kitchen and a bathroom for staff members.
“This extends the reach of the bank without the immediate cost of establishing a full branch,” Rautenbach says. — (c) 2013 NewsCentral Media