Equity Bank Plc on Monday shared a light moment with its customers as the bank joined the rest of the world in celebrating this year’s Customer Service Week. The weeklong event is observed annually during the first week of October, to celebrate the importance of customer service and continued quality support clients daily. The 2020 Customer Service Week theme is Dream Team, reflecting the importance of teamwork in providing outstanding service to customers. To mark the event, at the bank’s different branches across Kigali and beyond, staff shared cake and drinks with customers to celebrate and as well thank them for their loyalty and collaboration in their everyday banking services. Diane Mbabazi, the Corporate Relationship Manager of Supreme Banking, a VIP branch recently opened at Kigali Business Centre, told The New Times that the Customer Service Week is an opportunity for the bank to celebrate and reflect the importance of its esteemed customers. “Customer service satisfaction is our main target and we welcome others to come bank with us. So far, our relationship with our customers is good and, through the Customer Service Week, we celebrate them and we wish to tell them that the bank is always here for them as we continue to ensure that they enjoy our services wherever they are,” said Mbabazi. Mbabazi added that the bank will continue doing the best it can to make its services accessible by its customers from every market in which they operate namely Tanzania, DRC, Uganda, South Sudan and Rwanda. Bart Gasana, a businessman, has been a customer of Equity Bank since it started operations in 2011. He said his relationship with the bank has gotten better year after year and that the relationship helped his businesses grow in a way or another. “With Equity Bank, I have felt at home since I started banking with them about 10 years ago. That’s why I never thought of taking my money elsewhere,” Gasana said. Jocelyne Uwineza, from Catchup Investment Ltd, and another client said she is glad to work with the bank whose services, she says, have been getting better since she started banking with the bank. “I believe I have a reason to bank with Equity Bank because I have enjoyed their services over the past year, I’ve been banking with it. Their services are timely and efficient, and I look forward to seeing the bank get even better,” said Uwineza. The bank commenced its operations in October 2011 and has since opened 14 branches and serves a large number of SMEs across the country. It is a subsidiary of Equity Group Holdings Plc, which has other banking subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Agency banking In 2012, a year after launching operations in Rwanda, Equity Bank became the first bank to introduce the Agency Banking service whereby the bank deployed agents in different parts of the country, especially business centers, to help customers access its services conveniently. This reduced the time spent in bank, transport seeking banking services. When Claudine Nyinawamahoro opened an Equity agency Banking at Kabeza Market in Kicukiro District three years ago, a big number of Equity Bank’s customers flocked in seeking different banking services at her agency. She said that her agency not only helped reduce the queues at the banks but also spared time customers used to go to the bank. “Many customers come to us because we provide the majority services available at branch operations. The bank trusted us, through providing agency banking services, and it has in return helped the bank in serving its customers efficiently,” she said. So far the bank has over 2 500 agents providing banking services varying from account opening, cash in and cash out, cash transfer, account activation, bill payments (electricity, water, TV subscription and RRA) as well as international money transfer (MoneyGram and Western Union), among other services. Angelique Mukeshimana has been banking with Equity Bank since 2012. She told The New Times that the Agency Banking has brought almost all the bank’s services closer to her and saved on time that would have been spent seeking for similar services at a bank branch, whether I want to deposit, withdraw some money or even pay bills,” she said. Augustin Kanyarwanda, the Agency Banking Manager at Equity Bank said the service has been crucial to bringing customers all possible banking services within their reach to boost the bank’s efficiency in service delivery. “This is part of our bank’s strategy to bring the services closer to our customers. “We go with what customers want, we are ready to hear which services our customers want us to add on our agency banking menu to ensure customer service satisfaction,” he added.
