Monday’s launch of the national Mzansi bank account is the culmination of interaction between civil society, the public sector and banks to deliver a workable banking solution to millions of previously unbanked South Africans.
Blade Nzimande, chairperson of the Financial Sector Campaign Coalition, said: “The launch of the Mzansi national bank account today is a real victory for all those who have campaigned for financial institutions to serve the needs of all our people.
“We welcome the launch of the Mzansi account as the first step in meeting the agreement reached at the Financial Sector Summit in 2002 to achieve universal access to basic financial services for every South African.”
According to Tom Boardman, chairperson of the Banking Council, the launch of Mzansi is an important milestone in banking history.
“It gives affordable banking to the unbanked and it is the first tangible roll-out to benefit individuals as a result of the Financial Sector Charter,” he said.
The Mzansi account — developed in response to the Financial Sector Charter objective to provide people in the LSM one to five category with affordable and accessible banking — will be priced significantly lower than current banking offerings and will promote savings and make transacting easier.
“We urge all our people who have been kept out of the banking system until now to sign up for Mzansi and prove that banks can serve the needs of the workers and the poor — all you need to open an account is R20 and your ID,” commented Nzimande.
The initiative also represents a significant victory in delivering banking services to rural and township communities.
By consolidating the participating bank’s infrastructure, the Mzansi account will provide the majority of low-income people with a mechanism to access automatic teller machines within 10km of their homes and receive a full banking service within 15km.
All parties have agreed that the account will need to adapt going forward and customers can expect to see additional features added over time.
“This is a positive first step in addressing the banking needs of the people. Over the next six months, the parties will explore additional features which will give the Mzansi account customer even greater benefit,” explained Charles Chemel, coordinator of Access Initiatives.
The performance and acceptance of the account will also be carefully monitored and assessed to ensure it is meeting the right needs.
“We look forward to working with the banks and other financial institutions over the next six months to work out additional features for the Mzansi account to ensure that it fulfils the goal of the summit to provide access to affordable and convenient payments and savings facilities,” Nzimande concluded. — I-Net Bridge