Opens for Service Delivery Guaranty Trust Bank (Gambia) has been appointed “Direct Agent’ of Western Union with effect from 2 January 2007, making it the third bank in The Gambia to have attained Western Union direct agent link after Trust Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.

“ We are proud to ascribe the appointment as a further recognition of the efficient service culture and consistent growth of GTBank franchise in The Gambia,” Mr Olalekan Sanusi, GTB Managing Director, said on Wednesday at the launching of the Western Union Money Transfer service held at the Bank’s premises on Kairaba Avenue.

Expressing the appreciation of the board and management of GTB to Trust Bank for giving them the opportunity to render the service, Mr Sanusi said that prior to the upgrade or appointment, GTB has been rendering western union money transfer service as a sub-agent of Trust Bank.

“This upgrade in status is very timely for GTBank, as it would now allow the bank to ‘send’ money on behalf of its customers and non-customers, in addition to ‘receiving’ money on their behalf via the western union channel,” he said. “The new status also implies that the bank can now render western union service in all its branches in The Gambia; viz, Kairaba, Banjul, Senegambia, Serekunda and Brikama. This development should be highly welcoming for the bank customers in Banjul, as the bank could not render this service in its Banjul branch under the terms of its agency agreement as a sub-agent of Trust Bank.”

With this upgrade, Mr Sanusi further said, GTBank could now appoint sub-agents of Western Union Money Transfer anywhere in The Gambia, and also play an active and direct role in the marketing and promotion of Western Union services.

“In addition, GTBank can now develop and implement, subject to Western Union approval, innovative marketing promotions for Western Union services and take customers’ convenience to a higher and delighting level,” he said, adding that their core mission therefore “is to deploy in the immediate” their well recognised efficient and versatile service culture as well as innovative solutions to take the Western Union service to the next level of service delight for the benefit of their customers.

Mr Sanusi explained: “As a good starting point, and courtesy of a new initiative from Western Union in its bid to improve turn around time, we are beginning our service as a direct agent with the ‘slip free’ transaction processing system in The Gambia, a process whereby customers are only required to provide their control number and our tellers would do the rest. This new process is designed to cut off the enormous time required in completing the receiving forms.

“Second, and immediately, we would run both the ‘Received’ and the ‘Send’ services in all our branches. To ensure seamless and efficient service delivery, dedicated Teller points have been provided in all our branches. In line with the Western Union requirement, we have set up a well staffed Western Union Customer Service Centre (CSC) in our branch in Churchill Town with a dedicated telephone hotline number +220 4377773.”

Giving a retrospect of the past year, the GTB MD said 2006 was filled with lots of achievements for the bank in The Gambia and its parent in Nigeria.

“For a successful year 2006 during which the soup for this upgrade was cooked, I give kudos to the team of young, dedicated and vibrant Gambians that the bank has been endowed with. Without them, we would not be gathered here today. Above all, we remain humbled by the confidence the Western Union team in Morocco reposed in us, and the faith, you - the customers - who have and who are going to enjoy this service have built in the GTBank franchise,” Mr Sanusi said.

He added: “To both the Western Union organisation and you the customers for which this upgrade was done, I give you one promise - you would be delighted. Wouldn’t you rather bank with us?”