Rédaction Africa Links 24 with ANGONOTÍCIAS
Published on 2024-02-29 22:43:36
Lack of energy, network coverage, and illiteracy hinder the expansion of banking services in Angola
Officials in the banking sector in Angola stated today that the lack of energy, mobile network coverage, and financial illiteracy are the main obstacles to the expansion of banking services in the country.
During a conference on the expansion of financial services held in Luanda, the CEO of Banco Angolano de Investimento (BAI), Luís Lélis, also pointed out the “complex web of regulations” as a constraint.
Luís Lélis emphasized that there is a significant difference in costs between setting up a branch and having just one banking agent providing these services, highlighting the need to increasingly focus on non-face-to-face banking and make the technological leap through digitalization.
The banker noted, however, that there are challenges in terms of network coverage in various parts of Angola, questioning “where is the Angosat,” the Angolan communications satellite, which has been in orbit since 2022. Among the difficulties, he also pointed out the issues with energy supply and communication routes, giving the example of the province of Uíje where the distance between two municipalities for cash loading is 200 kilometers. “We have to consider whether we continue with cash or move on to other payment methods,” he suggested, also expressing concern about financial illiteracy and illiteracy leading to an increase in fraud.
Luís Lélis further explained that, although it was the banks’ desire, the current regulatory framework does not allow the use of single public service counters to provide financial services and criticized the malfunction of the so-called “green numbers,” which allow for toll-free calls. According to the BAI official, the green number provided to BAI after several years “does not work,” forcing customers to bear the costs of the calls.
The president of Emis (the entity managing the multicaixa network) referred to the growing number of transactions through this network, which grew by 30% last year to a total of two billion transactions.
Read the original article (Portuguese) on Angonoticias
