Channel for rural banking
POST Fiji will be the main channel for BSP customers in rural areas in having access to banking services.
According to the Post Fiji chief executive officer Dr Anirudha Bansod the partnership with BSP and the Fiji Government will allow Post Fiji’s widest distribution network into the rural areas and other places where the banks cannot reach.
“That’s where Post Fiji basically supports the Fiji Government as well as BSP in the initiative to handle the banking services of the BSP banks for the convenience of the people,” he said.
“We are also on the verge of signing the proper legal agreement very soon with BSP and that’s where we will keep on providing the banking services to the rural community of Fiji.”
Dr Bansod said Post Fiji’s 58 outlets would be a mechanism for people to access BSP’s banking services.
“This is predominantly useful in the rural community as the urban community doesn’t have any issue because the bank system is already available with the ATM cards and physical banking systems and sometimes the online banking as well.
“Whereas because of this availability of the channel into the rural areas BSP can facilitate all the rural banking through it.”
Dr Bansod said cash handling was a risky business and so many people as well as institutes were not comfortable, these included banks.
He said a classic example is where banks don’t want to go into the rural area whereas Post Fiji still continues to do business.
“That shows the creditability of Post Fiji that yes we can go deep and penetrate into the rural community as well.
“Defiantly where the BSP presence is not there Post Fiji will facilitate.”
He said Post Fiji had the ability to also deliver these sorts of services to other banking institutes as well.