Press Room
- Grand Opening in Democratic Republic of Congo
- Harry Turner Named CEO of Opportunity International Network Office
- Micro Ensure eyes higher premiums with Malayan, Grepalife alliance
- Farm aid from space
- Melinda Gates in Davos: Lessons from Africa
- Planting seeds to outgrow poverty
- Opportunity Bank of Malawi Featured by Millenium Villages
- IFC Helps Russian Microfinance Institution FORUS Bank
- Congressional Delegation Visits Opportunity International Microfinance Bank in Kigali, Rwanda
- The Global Food Crisis
- Indian farmers to insure themselves against climate change crop failure
- Rwanda: UOB’s Loan Portfolio Grows to $5.2 Million
- Putting Ghana’s Informal Sector in Business
- Background and Fact Sheet: March 2009
- Omidyar Network Grants $4.5 Million to Opportunity International
- Opportunity Joins Campaign for Client Protection
- The Micro Insurance Agency becomes MicroEnsure
- Opportunity International’s Micro Insurance Agency to Develop Life, Health and Crop Insurance
- Microschools get top marks
- John Deere Foundation and Opportunity International Join to Fight Hunger
- Gates Foundation gives $2.2M for banks in Africa
- Farmers benefit from electronic money transfer
- 500,000 milestone achieved in the Philippines
- New bank branch opens in Malawi
Network Press Room
Farmers benefit from electronic money transfer
The Malawi Nation, February 2nd, 2006
Opportunity International Bank of Malawi (OIBM) in conjunction with National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi (Nasfam) have launched an electronic money transfer (EMT) payment system that will enable farmers to use smartcards.
Initially, the system will allow 250 farmers under the Lilongwe South Farmers Association receive payments for their sales at the auction floors, save money and purchase farm inputs using a smartcard.
OIBM Chief Executive Officer Rodger Voorhies said the development is a worthy investment because farmers are the economic backbone yet they lack vital banking services.
“OIBM exists to bring banking services to people who need it most and these are smallholder farmers who form the economic base,” said Voorhies.
He said the system will improve farmers’ lives by lowering costs as they will have their money when needed and save time from two weeks to a few days in case of tobacco farmers getting their dues.
Malswitch Deputy General Manager Grey Nkungula said farmers are at robbers’ mercy because the majority of financial transaction in the country are cash-based.
He assured that the system will guarantee security to farmers.
Nasfam Commercial Director Heshan Peiris said the launch demonstrated his organisation’s objectives of linking farmers with donors and other stakeholders to empower farmers.
Farmers have for the past years been involved in physical cash transactions with banks, a situation that wasted much of the farmers’ time and exposed them to other hurdles like the need for an identity card to cash their money from banks.
In a related development, OIBM on Friday launched a new branch in Kasungu as part of its strategy to have foot prints outside Lilongwe. It will be officially inaugurated on March 2 this year.
OIBM Chairman Francis Perekamoyo said during the launch that the bank will target “the less advantaged Malawian customers” who do not have banking services.
Published in The Malawi Nation on February 2nd, 2006
