January 28,2013

PesaPoint has today announced that Family Bank’s services have gone live across its over 1000 ATMs and agent banking outlets across the country. Effectively, the bank’s customers will now be able to access their cash at a PesaPoint ATM nearby and PesaPoint branded ATMs and agents countrywide.

PesaPoint also announced that Family Bank’s own ATMs had been opened up for sharing and for use by all PesaPoint partner bank customers, following completion of a project to hook the bank onto the new PesaPoint Interconnect engine. This development also now opens the bank’s infrastructure for use by any cardholder in Kenya, a move that will boost the bank’s non-interest revenue.

 “I am delighted to announce that we at Family Bank have successfully opened up our ATMs for use by all cardholders in Kenya through the PesaPoint Interconnect engine,” said CEO, Peter Munyiri. “Customers from other banks will be able to use our ATMs while our customers can also access services at all PesaPoint ATMs, PesaPoint Agents countrywide and at all other ATMs belonging to banks that have a ‘PesaPoint available here’ logo on them,” he added.  Family Bank’s 120 ATMS will also be available to serve cardholders from all 30 PesaPoint partner banks.

Bernard Matthewman-Chief Executive Officer of the Paynet Group which PesaPoint belongs to- praised the decision by Family Bank in tapping the power of PesaPoint and opening up its ATMs to serve all cardholders in Kenya as “strategy in the right direction” that will provide immediate benefits to the bank.  “It will contribute to further growth of the bank’s non-interest revenue. We are happy to welcome Family Bank to the rapidly growing PesaPoint Interconnect network,” he said.

The PesaPoint network will further give the shared ATMs power to perform Mobile Money ATM Withdrawal transactions for M-PESA customers through agent number 555 555.

Family Bank becomes the 5^th Kenyan bank in Kenya, after KCB, DTB, NIC and CfC Stanbic to wholly share its ATM infrastructure through the new PesaPoint Interconnect engine and deliver what Mr. Munyiri called “borderless ATM services”. “We want to lead the way for other banks in giving Kenyans ATM and cash access points that serve any customer regardless which bank issued their cards and at reasonable fees,” he said.

Mr Munyiri noted that Kenyans have been paying heavily each time they use ATMs belonging to other banks as their transaction were routed through costly international card networks noting that sharing Family Bank’s ATMs would help correct this. “The PesaPoint Interconnect engine is a local financial network that is enabling the interconnectedness of ATMs and agents, thereby helping deliver low cost transactions at the ATMs for cardholders from other banks, who will use our ATMs.”

Infrastructure sharing to benefit Kenyan cardholder

Kenya Bankers Association has recently been calling on banks to share their ATM infrastructure to increase convenience to Kenyans, noting that ATMs piled together at shopping malls around the city were proving unprofitable.

“Installing multiple ATMs from different banks side by side at a single location as we often see in local shopping malls is becoming self defeating as the volumes become spread over too many acquiring points, raising the effective cost per transaction. On the other hand, interconnecting infrastructure allows placement of ATMs and Agents in more strategic ways and leads to overall efficiency,” says Bernard Matthewman.

Mr. Matthewman and Mr. Munyiri urged more banks in Kenya to open up their ATM infrastructure for sharing, noting that this at the end benefits the customer.  “Banks are realizing that a go-it-alone strategy is not paying the right levels of dividend. Those with large investments in infrastructure can leverage this by opening access to the national card base and those that have a few do not have to invest further to attempt to catch up,” Mr Matthewman said.

Anyone who holds a card issued by about 30 PesaPoint partner banks in Kenya can use any ATM that has a PesaPoint logo on it, while only incurring PesaPoint transaction fees as set by their own bank, he said.

In the recent past, Family Bank has been making strategic investments in technology and innovation, overhauling its core banking system, redesigning ATM infrastructure and enabling Mobile and Internet banking, as it positions itself to serve an increased customer base and support planned regional expansion. A mid to long term goal of listing a competitive Family Bank at  the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) have seen it reorganize its shareholding and float 40 million shares in a successful rights issue, raising Ksh 1.3 Billion shilling from existing pool of shareholders to finance the  positioning strategy.