The Long Road to Branchless Banking: FINCA’s Experience Deploying Agency Banking in Africa

This case study highlights FINCA’s journey in deploying agency banking in Africa over the past four years. The case study outlines ten strategic, operational and technical learnings that other finance and microfinance institutions can consider when creating or building upon a similar program:

1. Ensure institutional buy-in and align strategic goals;
2. Invest in robust and scalable technology systems and select vendors carefully;
3. Gain customer confidence and trust in the service to drive uptake and usage;
4. Conduct sales drives and remote account opening to drive new client acquisition;
5. Carefully select agents and build good relationships with them;
6. Align incentive structures between the agents and the institution;
7. Develop real-time reporting and monitoring capabilities to track agent activity;
8. Keep abreast of technological changes;
9. Be ready for disruptions to your current business operations;
10. Be patient: Cost savings will not translate into immediate benefits.