TPB POPOTE project to help Tanzanian rural dwellers

RURAL Tanzanian dwellers are expected to benefit from money transfer project dubbed TPB POPOTE which is to be introduced to them by a long serving Tanzania Postal Bank (TPB) later this year. TPB's Corporate and Marketing Communications Manager, Noves Mosses said in an exclusive interview recently in Dar es Salaam that, the project involves the installation of Point of Sell (POS) terminals which will be placed in many areas up to the villages where customers will use to make deposits, withdrawals, pay for goods or services, transfer money and many more services. “We are looking forward to implementing the second phase of Mobile banking popularly known as TPB POPOTE this year. This is in a bid to extend postal banking services to rural areas where the majority of Tanzanians live”. She said However she noted that, “the first phase started last year which was mainly concentrated in the cities and town centres, which enabled most TPB customers to pay their utility bills using their mobile phones or even top up airtime of their phones or someone's phones.

The Managing Director of Tanzania Postal Bank Mr. Sabasaba Moshingi directing one of his bank’s customers how to fill a form during the sensitization program on customer’s service recently at the bank’s office branch of YMCA at the heart of Dar es Salaam city. However, she said TPB will now have a brighter future for such a successful innovative concept of money transfer which according to her, is more profitable and an efficient bank transaction that every Tanzanian can be proud of. TPB has many branches everywhere and where everybody is proud of the services, and the bank has integrated its banking activities through ICTs such as the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), and now mobile banking, POS and many others. Being the only government bank in the flourishing financial market, the bank has a wider access through its networks with immense opportunities across the country. The bank has about 28 branches, five agencies and some 115 Tanzania Postal Cooperation agencies and is linked to the Umoja Switch, which enables the bank to serve its clients wherever they are. The main challenges faced by the bank is lack of enough capital, says Noves added that the bank is currently in discussion with the government seeking to get about Sh10 billion extra capital from the current Sh4.8 billion with which they could refurbish their facilities, deploy more workforce and serve better their loyal customers. However, despite of financial squeeze, the banks is prospecting within ten years time to have established itself everywhere in the country. “We want to see our customer base tippled and there is potential to attend the number of unbanked population in the country”. She said. With other projections, the bank is striving to be the most affordable and convenient bank that is determined to increase its lending portfolio from Sh65 billion to Sh200 billion by 2015. Within a year or so, it would be changing from service to commercial bank. Accompanied with other innovations, all these plans should turn TPB a profitable bank and the best in terms of its services. This shows that competition is there and it is quite stiff. Despite of these normal challenges, TPB is stable and is not scared of competition at all and instead it believe competition is healthy for business.