IN PARTNERSHIP WITH GENDER AND DIGITAL FINANCIAL SERVICES CRACKING OPEN THE COOKIE JAR The Service In 2014, AMRET1 launched the first stage of its Mobile Financial Services (MFS) program in Cambodia, called Mobile Tellers. The mobile teller provides Door-2-Door account registration, savings KEY FIGURES collection, and cash withdrawal service with SMS receipts. Managed by the individual branches, these tellers go out to clients’ homes and/ or business places where customers are not able to travel to a branch. 26,000 rural savings accounts have been The key driver for building the MFS program is the leveraging of created rural savings. AMRET knows such savings exist, but these savings are not entering the formal banking sector due to long geographical 82 percent of the Mobile distances. Teller customers are women Innovations Double Processing: Many new customers were not comfortable Only 27 percent of these with only having SMS receipts. Illiteracy, full SMS mailboxes, women previously had and technical unfamiliarity were the major challenges. AMRET bank accounts decided to adopt both SMS and paper receipts until customers felt comfortable. This helped customers feel safe as they transitioned from their Cookie Jar savings to formal savings. Branch Adaptations: AMRET opted for a decentralized approach, whereby branches would manage the mobile tellers and own the customers. Branch manager roles were adapted to being eco-system driven, rather than branch driven. This required a clear new vision for Branch Managers, and a pilot program was undertaken to see how the changes worked. Staged Approach: There are two phases to the AMRET MFS program. First, Mobile Tellers are brought into an area to register and service customers. This phase builds the trust and creates the eco-system. Second, AMRET will then work with customers to move to a self-serve model as comfort with technology increases. 1. AMRET is a Micro-Finance Institute in Cambodia licensed do lending and take deposits. Adaptations Further Opportunities • Door-2-Door: AMRET knew it needed to Review other functions that the Mobile Teller can leverage rural savings. However, it also knew it undertake, such as disbursements and collection of could not build new branches everywhere, and that loan applications. It may also be beneficial to run customers would not travel the distances to visit marketing programs, and undertake research. Review them. The Door-2-Door model allows AMRET to the savings products and other services offered to extend the reach of each branch in a cost effective, determine if further changes are needed to better suit yet highly personal way. this market —and enable clients to obtain further access to formal financial services through the Mobile • All processes in branches, from cash management Teller channel. to customer complaints, needed to be reviewed and adapted to add the mobile teller model into the day-to-day operations. This review was critical How this can apply to the Pacific to ensure that the operation ran smoothly for both Region staff and customers. As in Cambodia, many Pacific women are not easily able to leave home due to home-based needs How has the Mobile Teller program (children, parents, home businesses). Women need added value to AMRET help by having services come to them. • AMRET has leveraged 26,000 new savings Many communities are still unexplored in terms of accounts as of May 2016. These accounts are what their financial service needs are. First player depositing savings at about twice per week, with advantage would allow a DFS to build trust in the withdrawals being done about once every 2 weeks. community while building awareness of all financial service products. • AMRET has significantly extended its brand reach and built trust in new villages. This means that it There are many highly underserved communities in will likely be the first port of call for customers the Pacific region who would benefit from having a who wish to utilize more financial services. regular financial service. The provision of training AMRET has developed a much greater and support can help introduce these services in more understanding of the ‘last mile’, that is, what areas of the region. is out there in terms of savings, and how these communities behave. Many of these communities Additional Resources are inaccessible at different times of the year and have been typically ignored by formal institutions. http://bwtp.org/amret-microfinance-institution- update/ http://www.amret.com.kh/amret/index.php/en/ Contact: Margarete Biallas | IFC Digital Financial Services Advisory | mbiallas@ifc.org IN PARTNERSHIP WITH