You can now open an NMB account from anywhere

Dar es Salaam. Tanzanians wishing to open a bank account with NMB Bank Plc will now be able to do so on their own from anywhere in the world.

The lender yesterday unveiled its digitisation drive that will see customers conduct a number of banking services from wherever they are around the world.

Code-named KLik, the service provides three digital banking ways that are geared towards offering easy access to customers’ monies, as well as fast payment systems, including a self-account opening service that enables a customer to open an account in less than three minutes using a mobile device.

“There will no longer be paperwork, no unbearable charges. There will be no need for one to physically visit a bank branch. You only need a functioning mobile phone with a local subscriber number to open an account,” the bank’s head of innovation, Ms Josena Njambi, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

Accounts for Tanzanian shillings can be opened using a Tanzanian-registered mobile phone number from anywhere within the country or overseas (when roaming), NMB senior manager for liability products Stephen Adili told journalists in Dar es Salaam on Monday.

Upon opening an account, one will have up to three months of running it before it (the new account) gets exposed to physical verification under NMB Bank’s Know Your Customer (KYC) arrangement.

Prior to KYC verification, the highest amount that can be kept in such an account will be Sh1 million while after verification, the amount will rise to Sh5 million, Mr Adili said.

Should KYC not be conducted within 90 days (three months) since the account was opened, the money will be kept safely in the account and no one will be allowed to withdraw it until verification is done.

Apart from exclusion of monthly charges and minimum balance opening charges, a customer can also earn an instant interest of five per cent as soon as the account is opened.

“This product also comes with an app which simplifies payments of bills and other financial obligations like calculating the actual amount of deductions to a loan, salary advance applications and forex calculators,” Ms Njambi said.

NMB Bank managing director Ineke Bussemaker said the digitisation drive was aimed at ensuring that the bank reaches a bigger section of Tanzania’s unbanked population.

“We cannot reach all the 50 million-plus Tanzanians if we depend only on brick-and-mortar branches. With digital networks, more people will access financial services,” she said.

Officiating at the launch, Bank of Tanzania Deputy Governor Bernard Kibesse said the cashless feature in financial services is the government’s ultimate goal.

“The launch of products such as the scan-to-pay feature aligns with the country’s economic objective to encourage cashless transactions,” Dr Kibesse said.