Banking lesson for all

An international bank in Dharavi? Well, why not when crores worth of business happens in this largest slum of Asia.  South African bank, FirstRand Bank has taken the initiative and making  a lot of moolah. It does not have a branch as such but only a Correspondent and an ATM. This itself has done very well with the 13,000 accounts getting opened and the ATM see’s around 2000 transactions per month.

This would be a lesson for all the others who shy away from opening a branch there. Before starting operations, FirstRand conducted a study in the region and found that people living in the slum were swiping debit cards not just at malls but also were frequent visitors to Café Coffee Day and other food outlets. So though they lived in a slum, they were trading, making money and were aspiring for a better quality of life.

At a time when new banking licenses will be soon issued, this comes as a fantastic lesson from FirstRand for the rest. It has shown that there is an opportunity wherever you look but the prerequisite is that you need to look and see the opportunity.