Effectiveness of agency banking in bank of Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of Agency Banking in Bank of Africa Uganda Ltd. The research opportunity was that agency banking carries several benefits which include reducing congestion, reducing costs of setting up fully fledged bank branches, allowing customers to have full time access to the banking services in convenient and nearby locations. The objectives were to identify costs associated with agency banking in Bank of Africa, to establish the level of customer growth in Bank of Africa and to establish the benefits of Agency banking to Bank of Africa. The study adopted a cross sectional research design and the use of a quantitative approach as the main means of data collection. A sample of 205 employees was selected using simple random sampling approach. Data was collected from primary sources using a questionnaire. Findings show that the respondents agreed that the introduction of agency banking directly contributed to the customers’ reduction of cost when accessing banking services. Secondly, agent banking has greatly influenced the customer growth in Bank of Africa. It was also found that agency banking has directly contributed to better service delivery due to ease of access. On that basis it was recommended that Bank of Africa should fully adopt the agency banking model given its effect on the bottom line, clear policies and procedures, which are subject to regular (preferably bi-annual) review should be developed, Bank of Africa needs to go all in for agency banking which will attract customers to use its service hence expanding its savings base and loan portfolio, and the bank should consider partnership agreements with agents.