Cairo XX December, 2020 – As part of its strategy to provide a distinguished banking experience through developing and expanding the branch network and publishing digital services, Crédit Agricole Egypt celebrated the opening of its new Alex Bay branch in Gleem, Alexandria in reopening the Alexandria Sporting Club branch. The two branches adopt the banki Store concept, which is considered an innovative model for branches that rely on a balance between digital services and banking consultations.
France’s ambassador to Cairo Stéphane Romatet attended the ceremony, along with Crédit Agricole Egypt’s Managing Director Pierre Finas, Deputy Managing Director Walie Lotfy, and members of the Board of Directors of Alexandria Sporting Club.
“It gives me great pleasure to be here today to celebrate the opening of the first = banki stores in Alexandria in the presence of the French Ambassador and the distinguished Alex Club board members. This inauguration is very important for Credit Agricole Egypt since it is part of our development plan. It serves from one side ensuring a distinguished experience for our customers and from the other it pushes towards the digital transformation”, said Pierre Finas, Managing Director of Crédit Agricole Egypt. He added: “Our strategy is stemming from our Group’s vision and raison d’etre “working every day in the interest of our customers and society”. Thus, our top priorities is to answer the needs of our customers, pave the way for the future of the banking sector in line with the national plan to digitize financial services and definitely to support the economy and community. After the covid-19 crisis, Crédit Agricole Egypt accelerated its digital development plan and expand our banki store branches network to provide unique banking services to as many customers as possible whilst maintaining their safety and ensuring their comfort. We are also continuously developing our banking services and we take pride in the bank’s digital transformation strategy, which has earned many prestigious awards for the quality of the services we provide for both individuals and companies”.
He added: “Crédit Agricole Egypt’s development plan is part of the parent group’s strategy that focuses on sustainability. We are proud to publish the first sustainability report for Crédit Agricole Egypt covering the period 2017-2019 with an integrated reporting system that is the first of its kind in Egypt. The report covers all aspects of the bank’s work to ensure responsible growth of activities and achieving sustainable value. This report highlights the transparency of the bank and its responsibility in working for the benefit of stakeholders, customers, employees, society, and the environment. Crédit Agricole Group is one of the leading banks in green financing. The bank’s corporate and investment arm, CACIB, is participating in the first green bonds offering in Egypt, serving as a joint structural advisor and co-bookrunner,” he added.
From his side, Crédit Agricole Egypt’s Deputy Managing Director Walie Lotfy said: “Part of Crédit Agricole Egypt’s strategy relies on providing innovative digital services for financial inclusion, to stimulate the digital economy; thus we launched the closed communities’ initiative. We started this initiative with our 40-year partner Alexandria Sporting Club and converted its members’ access cards into prepaid cards that they can use for online and store purchases and make payments for government services. We are also availing this card for youth, who are more reliant on technology. We want to help them understand digital payments and attract them to use these services.”
“We listen to our customer needs and we strive to always be ahead of their expectations. Most recently, we launched a new loyalty rewards program to cover all customers, for the first time, for purchases made via any of the bank’s cards and digital services. We are also doubling our ATMs network to cover more areas in 2021. In addition, the bank will issue the first recyclable contactless card, which stems from our belief in preserving the environment and reducing our carbon footprint across all our activities,” he added.
Regarding the development of digital services, Walie said: “The bank will soon launch the fifth version of the banki app, which, for the first time, will enable customers to submit instalment requests for their purchases and redeem their loyalty rewards points. With these new features, banki app will become an integrated one-stop-shop application for the convenience of our customers.”
“In addition, the bank is expected to launch the e-commerce service next year after receiving the approval of the Central Bank of Egypt and obtaining an online electronic collection license for companies,” Walie added.
“During the last period, we witnessed an increase in the usage of banki by Crédit Agricole Egypt digital services by individuals and companies. About 50% of our active customers have registered to use our digital services. This marks a 25% increase compared to the same period last year. The average logins to banki services is 10 times per client. This brings the total logins, since the beginning of 2020, to over 6 million, up by 70% from last year. Our customers have made around 1 million digital transactions since the beginning of the year, marking a 30% growth compared to the same period last year. As for companies, we have recorded an increase in their transactions reaching 80%. This reflects the confidence of our customers in the bank’s digital services, which is why we are rewarding our customers with points on their digital transactions for the first time.
For his part, Chairperson of Alexandria Sporting Club Dr Ahmed Warda commented: “We are proud of our 40-year partnership with Crédit Agricole Egypt. During this period, the bank was able to gain the confidence of the club’s members by providing integrated and innovative services, especially after we cooperated last year to transform nearly 100,000 club membership cards into electronic payment cards. This innovative service won the admiration of the members and provided them with many advantages as an alternative to cash payment.”
At the beginning of the year, Crédit Agricole Egypt opened three new branches of banki store in Hassan Al Maamoun in Nasr City, Al Rehab 2, and City Stars, bringing the total number of banki store branches to 13.
The banki Store branches provide a number of services that deliver an excellent banking experience for customers, starting with a Digital Greeter to guide customers to their destination inside the branch to providing the necessary support for all customers, whether or not they were registered to the bank’s online services. The Digital Greeter also assists customers to self-register for Crédit Agricole Egypt’s online services on smartphones and tablets running iOS or Android. These online services enable customers to conduct their banking transactions remotely 24/7. Customers visiting any banki store branch can also seek assistance and expert advice on various topics from the trained employees available via video calls.
