Accra, Jan 24, GNA – Ghana’s largest privately-owned indigenous bank, Fidelity Bank, has held a series of engagement forums for its agents nationwide, with rewards for the outstanding ones.
The forums also served as a platform for representatives of the various departments of the bank to train the agents on best practices in their operations.
A statement issued by the Ghanaian pioneer of agency banking, Fidelity Bank, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the engagement forums on the theme: “Mitigating Risks in the Agent Banking Business” were held in Tamale, Kumasi and Takoradi with the final forum being held in Accra for both Accra and Eastern territories.
S-Duah Enterprise from the Ashanti Region was crowned the 2021 Overall Best Agent and was presented with a motor bicycle and a certificate of recognition.
The best agents from each of the five territories were also presented with certificates and Samsung 32” smart TVs, the statement said.
The first runners up received Nasco double-door fridges, while the most improved agents were awarded with LG sound systems, and the best Agent Attendants went home with microwaves.
Speaking at the event, Nana Esi Idun-Arkhurst, the Divisional Director, Retail Banking of Fidelity Bank Ghana, pledged the Bank’s unflinching support to the Agents and commended them for their significant contribution to the successes chalked by the bank.
“We appreciate the milestones our Agents have achieved as they have boosted financial inclusion in many communities,” she stated.
“To ensure that this trend continues, Fidelity Bank is committed to improving our agency banking operations so that we can better serve even more customers.”
Nana Esi Idun-Arkhurst added that Fidelity Bank would keep expanding its Agent network to send banking closer to the doorsteps of Ghanaians.
The Bank also intended to create employment for more Ghanaians across the country, she stated.
Addressing the Agents, Dr David Okyere, Fidelity Bank’s Head of Agency Banking, stated that, “Key amongst our 2022 initiatives will be our Agent Promotion campaign as well as the introduction of our Agent locator feature; a tool on the Fidelity Mobile App that will show the locations of all Fidelity Agent Points across the country.”
Dr Okyere also said that after a successful pilot programme, the Bank would this year begin to offer liquidity support to Agents.
Fidelity Agency Banking was introduced as an alternative distribution channel after Fidelity Bank became the first bank to receive approval from the Bank of Ghana to fully operate the agency banking model in Ghana in 2014.
Today, Fidelity Bank has about 5,000 agents across all the regions of Ghana.
Fidelity Bank was adjudged the 2021 Agency Banking Bank of the Year at the 2021 Instinct Business Finance Innovation Awards and is currently the market leader in agency banking in Ghana.
In a little over a decade, Fidelity Bank Ghana has grown from a discount house to a Tier-1 Bank and is now the largest privately-owned Ghanaian Bank in Ghana.
The bank serves about two million customers in 75 branches across Ghana and is a leader in the digital banking space.
It has two subsidiaries, Fidelity Asia Bank Limited, which is a wholly owned subsidiary in Malaysia and Fidelity Securities Limited, an asset management firm.
GNA