By Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK – In a world of technology and innovation, amid growing competition in the banking sector, the SME Bank has received its NamClear certification, which provides clients access to online banking.
Frans Kapofi, SME Bank board chairperson, confirmed the development: “When we opened the Bank we were not on NamClear, thus we had to do our customer deposits and payments through another commercial bank. I am happy to report that we are now live on two of the three payment streams that is cheque payment system and Electronic Funds Transfer system. We are currently working on the card payment system which will include both debit and credit cards. Our cards currently are only compatible with our ATMs which are located at the Head Office/Main Branch, Mearua Mall, Evelyn Street and Monte Christo Shoprite Complex.”
NamClear agency is originally a cooperative venture between the Bank of Namibia and the four Namibian commercial banks, namely Bank Windhoek, First National Bank, Nedbank and Standard Bank. NamClear is tasked with the clearance of all bank guaranteed cheques from all commercial banks in the country. According to the agency it was observed that one in 20 cheques in Namibia are fraudulent.
The Banker’s Association of Namibia (BAN) launched NamClear in 2008 for Namibian banks to clear electronic, card and cheque payments in Namibia.