ETHIOPIA – Dashen Bank, the largest private bank in Ethiopia, has announced that it has extended its strategic partnership with CR2 as they accelerate their Branch Transformation programme, a key pillar of their overall digital transformation taking place at the bank.
This latest strategic initiative responds to the changing nature of the branch, migrating traditional teller services to digital points of access such as mobile, online and in-branch self-service terminals including the ATM and kiosk.
“Apart from creating better digital customer experiences, our partnership with CR2 will drive further growth of our overall market share, enabling us to reach new customers and reduce our cost to serve,” Asfaw Alemu, Chief Executive Officer of Dashen Bank commented.
“We expect to see growth across all lines of business including retail, corporate and Islamic banking segments as well as increasing access to foreign currency through inward remittances and improving our overall cost to income ratio.”
Transitioning to a digital branch enables tellers and relationship managers to assist customers digitally in-branch or remotely via the self-service channels and allows customers avail of the services unassisted from the digital points of access. Services include account opening, card applications, cheque deposits, inward and outward remittances and instant loans.
“We are very pleased to further solidify our partnership with Dashen Bank. Branch Transformation is a critical strategic project for any bank to undertake, but it offers significant benefits when successfully executed,” Chief Executive of CR2, Fintan Byrne added.
“Digitising and streamlining processes that were traditionally served in-branch will greatly increase the Bank’s digital customer base and significantly improve overall cost efficiencies at the bank.”
Branch Transformation marks the second major initiative that Dashen Bank has embarked upon with CR2.
Following the rollout of CR2’s Digital Banking and Payments Platform; BankWorld, in 2018, the platform has provided an omnichannel banking experience for both Dashen digital banking customers and the 3.5 million of Ethiopians.
In April last year, Dashen Bank launched Amole e-commerce gateway using Visa Cyber Source infrastructure to acquire Visa, Mastercard and American Express cards.
The Amole e-commerce gateway was the first e-commerce gateway in Ethiopia to accept all three major international cards with the promise to expand by acquiring and developing additional digital payment methods.
The e-commerce was launched in cooperation with Moneta Technologies, a fintech company fully owned by Kenya’s Fettan Holdings Limited which operates Dashen Bank’s digital wallet system, Amole, and Visa.
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