2017 saw DAVE-IT venture into Agent Banking with the sole purpose of uplifting the livelihoods of Zimbabweans through Financial Inclusion.
Banks had low KYC accounts that were easy to open. Won’t mention the names of the Banks but it went like this.
1. Agent gets the app
2. Photocopy of ID
3. Opens Bank Accounts for people and gets them to the Mobile Banking Stage
4. Agent keeps $1 Bank takes $1
Easy as 123 right? Indeed. It was and we made good progress opening over 1,000 accounts in a short time. This made us evolve. We needed to open Bank Accounts faster so we could double or even triple the amount of people we could process in a 8 hour window.
We broke it down. First thing was the photocopying of ID's. It was a problem. Having to bring a printer and generator in some instances was not on. Solution, accurately take a picture of every person’s ID. This saved us money as we simply emailed the images to the Bank.
Let them print them out. It saved time.
Next up was the way we were taught to input the data into the app. We were asked to use a Smartphone. All good but depending on the device it limits speed of execution and accuracy of information. Solution was to use a laptop which was the recipient of a tethered internet connection. With the related apps installed on the laptop it made it faster and easier to process clients.
Three years later we have slowed down on Rural Banking and Financial Inclusion thrust because of the trust associated to Banks in Rural areas. The Banks didn’t go the extra mile. What’s the point of opening 1,000 accounts in a rural community and there are no POS devices to process payments.
We hope 2021 and beyond addresses issues of Financial Inclusion making all Zimbabweans bankable.