7000 in remote Markham get access to banking services

By JUNIOR UKAHA
MORE than 7000 people living in the mountainous Wantoat area in the hinterlands of Markham in Morobe can now have easy access to banking services.
The Bank South Pacific has appointed an agent in the area to provide banking services to the people.
On June 14, BSP marketing officers from Lae Briskie Kaume and Daniel Kinokua undertook a seven-hour trip into Wantoat station to train the agent on how to provide the service.
They spent more than two weeks in the area assisting locals to open bank accounts, issuing them bank cards and conducting financial literacy trainings.
“The reason why we have decided to establish a BSP agent in the area was to bring important banking services to the people’s doorsteps,” Kaume said.
“We are helping them to save time and money because they often travel long distances to the city to do banking.”
The bank’s agent is Ganzik Trading which will carry out services such as deposits, withdrawals, transfers and balance checks. It will use a Samsung Tablet and a Blue Bamboo printer for the services.
“Maximum daily withdrawals is about K2000 but the agent can give more if they have enough cash available and depending on the situation,” Kaume said.
“Clients can deposit any amount they want.”
A total of 1200 locals received bank cards with 97 registered under the bank’s new “Plus-Saver” account.