NMG staff sacco launches front office services

The Nation Staff Savings and Co-operative Society (Sacco) has launched Front Office Services Activity (Fosa), joining an ongoing drive by the co-operative movement to offer a wide range of financial services to members.

The new services will boost its offerings, allowing members to access a wider range of transactions such as deposit taking, salary processing, and short term advances.

“We are looking forward to offering a wide range of services beyond the savings programme, giving them an alternative to existing systems,” said Peter Ocholla, the chairman of the Sacco.

The drive to meet growing customer needs has increased the pressure on commercial banks that traditionally targeted people in formal employment.

The ability of Saccos to offer their members access to third party automated teller machines (ATMs) through the SaccoLink debit card supported by Co-operative Bank has eased access to cash.

“SaccoLink has addressed the need to access funds as members have the ability to get their cash through ATMs operated by Co-operative Bank,”said Catherine Munyiri, the director of co-operatives at the institution.

The country co-operative movement owns 80 per cent of the Co-operative Bank.

According to Ms Munyiri, 250 Saccos offer Fosa services.

This number is expected to increase as Saccos diversify their revenue sources to improve their income base.

For Nation Sacco, plans are underway to offer services to other related parties such as newspaper vendors, which is expected to ease their cash handling services.

The country co-operative movement is estimated to have an asset base of over Sh200 billion, with a membership of 8 million spread across 12, 000 registered co-operative societies.

It is estimated that 50 per cent of the registered co-operative societies are savings institutions with the rest undertaking other functions such as production and marketing.

New regulations

New regulations to ensure observance of key prudential requirements such as minimum capital base, liquidity ratio and risk exposure are expected to come into effect, thereby strengthening Saccos and ensuring safety and soundness of operations.

The emerging trend where Saccos are integrating additional services such as deposit taking, salary processing and provision of short term loan facilities has enabled many members to avoid other costly alternatives such resorting to ‘shylocks’, which have been thriving in the country.