BoT to open branches in Mtwara and Dodoma

Governor Beno Ndulu

BY SHUBILA BARONGO

Bank of Tanzania (BoT) plans to open branches in Mtwara and Dodoma regions in its latest efforts to bring its services closer to clients and ensure that commercial banks get enough money.

Governor Berno Ndulu making the revelation to the media recently at the launch of a four-day seminar on monetary policy, said the Dodoma branch is undergoing final touches and would start operating in the near future.

“BoT has felt imperative to expand across the country so as to reach as many people as possible,” he said.

Ndulu said the central bank needed to catch up with the demands of commercial banks which have also expanded their services countrywide.

Currently, BoT has four branches which are in Mbeya, Arusha, Zanzibar and Mwanza.
In Mwanza, the central bank has also established a training institute to provide BoT staff with necessary knowledge and skills so they can perform better in their daily tasks.

Meanwhile, BoT is optimistic that the newly introduced agent banking services such as ‘Fahari Huduma’ of CRDB Bank and mobile money transactions and other financial technology would help in reducing currency in circulation.

Agency banking involves the processing of clients’ transactions on behalf of a financial institution or mobile network operator by a retail or postal outlet.

Rather than a branch teller, it is the owner or an employee of the retail outlet who conducts the transaction and lets clients deposit, withdraw, and transfer funds, pay their bills, inquire about an account balance, or receive government benefits or a direct deposit from their employer.

Banking agents can be pharmacies, supermarkets, convenience stores, lottery outlets, post offices and many more, he said.

“BoT is proud to have introduced agency banking in the country with a view to simplify services to our clients. It is very advantageous in that the startup capital is minimal compared to regular branches.

Besides, it has easy management, simplifies transactions and also supplements workers’ income,” said Agapiti Kobello, BoT’s director of bank supervision.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN