Bank opens passbook link with fingerprint

THE Women’s Micro Bank Ltd (mama bank) has created access to loans through opening of passbooks and fingerprints for Papua New Guineans.
According to Urban Rural Development Foundation (URDF) executive director Janet Banabo, the programme is called “mama access coin” and came under Pacific Financial Inclusion programme and United Nations Capital Fund based in Fiji.
The programme was aimed at seeing how women in the country would have access to banking services.
“Many don’t have access so the programme was developed called ‘mama access coin’,” she said.
“We open passbooks and these passbooks are linked with the fingerprints.
“You can lose your passbook but with your fingerprint, your account is safe and that’s the first bank that rolled out this programme.”
Banabo, who is the founder of URDF, said Morata in Port Moresby and was the first recipient of such project.
She told The National that after they signed a memorandum of understanding with the bank, in four months, they mobilised mothers in Morata and K180,000 was deposited.
When asked to speak about financial literacy during the parole training graduation last Friday, Banabo said to drive the development of this country, economic empowerment was vital and creating such a platform could transform lives.
She said they (Urban Rural Development Foundation) promoted efficient service delivery to anyone willing to open new a passbook linked to fingerprints.
Banabo encouraged the recipients of the passbook to actively use them.
The “mama access coin” programme was established to empower individuals especially the informal sector by saving their money an investing it in order to improve their lives.
The Urban Rural Development Foundation is working in partnership with the Women’s Micro Bank Ltd to deliver access of passbooks to women and youths.