Spreading Access to Finance Across Ghana, One New Customer at a Time

In a small regional capital in Ghana, a mobile banker for GN Bank recently stopped by the stall of a market vendor to talk to him about opening an account. The vendor was hesitant—he had never had a bank account before—but decided to return the next day with a deposit. When he did, he was carrying GhS 40,000—about US$10,000.  

GN Bank’s mobile bankers, who travel by foot deep into the country’s markets, know better than anyone that banking is all about trust. In Ghana, there are six bank branches per 100,000 adults, compared to 32 in the United States, according to the World Bank, and only 34 percent of adults in Ghana have an account at a bank.

GN Bank hopes to change those statistics by increasing access to the formal financial system, and mobile bankers are a major part of that effort. In the past year, the bank has increased its mobile force by nearly 60 percent, from 700 to 1,100 out of about 2,400 total employees. The mobile bankers stop at markets and mom-and-pop shops across the country, building relationships with people they hope will become their future customers. GN Bank believes the effort will make banking easier for Ghanaians who historically have relied on community-based savings and loan groups known as “susu.”   

Mobile bankers provide daily collection service ensuring the safekeeping of customer deposits and provide automatic life insurance of GhS 1,000 (US$250) for each savings account holder. GN Bank also offers a version of a susu savings program, designed to provide a sense of familiarity to customers who are moving into the formal economy for the first time.  

Founded in 1997 and licensed to operate as a savings and loans company in 2006, GN Bank received its universal banking license in 2014. In addition to its mobile team, the bank has 205 brick-and-mortar branches as part of its mission to encourage a savings culture and make banking accessible to every Ghanaian, one customer at a time.

So far the effort seems to be paying off. After the market vendor in the regional capital deposited his money with GN Bank, he changed his mind and withdrew the entire amount before the day was over. The branch manager offered to drive him home so he wouldn’t have to travel alone again with so much cash, and by the time they were halfway there, the man had decided to redeposit his money. He had only been testing the system, to see if he could trust it. He decided he could.