Union Savings and Loans company Limited has attained a banking status, changing its name to OmniBank Limited.
The company which was issued with a provisional banking license early this year has completed moves to fully operate as a universal bank in Ghana.
Speaking at Transition Engagement ceremony with clients of the bank, the Managing Director, Mr. Philip Mensah told Citi Business News OmniBank will now overcome limitations such as operating forex accounts, while it expands activities in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector.
“This transition means that we will be able to overcome two of our biggest challenges. The first challenge is forex. Currently as Savings and Loans Company we are not able to directly do foreign currency transaction. As a bank we will be able to this,” he said.
He stated that the banking status will also allow OmniBank customers to transfer money abroad and receive funds at lower cost, unlike was previously through a third party account.
“Customers can walk into our banking halls and open this account. The other important change is that we are able to go to the clearing house directly,” he added.
By this, Mr. Mensah explained that OmniBank will have the ability to clear cheques of its clients faster at lower cost.
Touching on the success achieved in serving the SME sector, Mr. Mensah assured that the new status will empower the bank to make more investments into the sector which is currently one of its major client base.
“We are coming into the market with two exciting messages; the first message is the free bank account for all. No COT, absolutely free. We are still SME focused and will serve clients in the SME sector,” he said.
He added that the bank will also provide an opportunity for customers to transfer funds via mobile money to their bank accounts and vice versa.
He stated that currently the bank has a capital asset of over 140million cedis, targeting over 3 billion cedis in 2020.
“We have grown our capital from 4 million cedis to over 140 million in the short period. Just three years ago, we were at the bottom but now we are number one,” he said.
–
By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana