Kenya: Absa Bank to establish 17,000 agency outlets within two years

Absa Bank Kenya has announced its intention to establish more than 17,000 agency service outlets nationwide within the next two years.

In the first phase of this expansion, the Bank will rapidly grow its agency network from the current 600 outlets to over 3,000, prioritizing increased accessibility and improved service delivery to reach the most remote areas.

The project is designed to improve access to essential financial services for individuals and businesses within their communities. It provides both current and potential customers the convenience of conducting cash deposits, withdrawals, and other transactions through third-party outlets.

This expansion is a strategic move to align with the Bank’s long-term growth and financial inclusion objectives. It also reflects Absa’s new customer-centric brand promise, ‘Your Story Matters,’ and aims to bridge the service gap for underserved communities by utilizing a third-party network, including general shops and convenience stores.

Absa Bank Kenya PLC Managing Director and CEO, Abdi Mohamed, reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to supporting customers’ growth journeys, innovating, and providing solutions that address their daily financial needs. He emphasized that this aligns with the Bank’s purpose of ‘Empowering Africa’s tomorrow together, one story at a time.’

“As a full-service Bank, we cater to customers from all walks of life – from clients who only interact with us digitally, to those who prefer the reassurance of talking to one of our colleagues in-branch or through a third party, we are a Bank for all seasons. As we embrace the evolving landscape, agency network is a critical piece of how we serve our customers, and we are keen on it. Our footprint will continue to grow over time, and we are focused on demystifying banking for all. This distribution model will not only drive efficiency in our business as we empower individuals and businesses to thrive but also contribute to the growth of our economy by facilitating essential financial services in underserved areas.”

This service expansion is consistent with customers’ growing preference for alternative banking channels, which is fuelled by the convenience afforded by the agency model. According to the Central Bank of Kenya’s Annual Report for the financial year 2022/23, as of June 2023, there were 21 commercial banks and three microfinance banks engaged in agency banking, with a total of 85,328 and 936 active agents, respectively, since the establishment of agency model in 2010.

The report also noted a considerable increase in banking transactions through agents, with 1.3 billion transactions compared to 1.1 billion in June 2022.  During the same time period, the value of agency banking transactions increased from Kes 9.0 trillion to Kes 10.8 trillion, demonstrating that agency banking services are becoming more widely used in Kenya.