4 Eurogiro News
boosting local economies by facilitating
the flow of trade and the growth of micro-
enterprise initiatives, whilst at the same
time enhancing the social and economic
development of these communities. More
recently, through a new partnership
signed in January 2012 with a major
Brazilian public bank, new alternatives
have been studied and developed for the
expansion of Postal Bank's operations.
One of such initiatives led to the creation
of the Banco Postal Itinerante (Mobile
Postal Bank), an initiative created to
bring Postal Bank as close as possible to
its target audience by providing mobile,
internet-based services for a limited time
period in places with large daily flows of
people (such as urban public transporta-
tion hubs, interstate highways, subway
stations, permanent open air markets and
others). These mobile banks would be in
an ideal position to advertise available
services, answer questions, attract new
customers and expand business opportu-
nities, ultimately fostering financial inclu-
sion for the country’s population.
Mobile banks consist of a unit with ‘re-
mote booths’ installed in kiosks, with the
possibility of deploying a mobile unit in an
adapted vehicle that can provide basic ser-
vices such as opening accounts, handling
loans, managing credit cards and other
services that do not require the handling
of cash.
With a simple technological solution, the
Mobile Postal Bank provides services
through a notebook configured to work
as a 'mobile booth' of a Post Office which
already operates as a Postal Bank. It
has access to the Post Office Service’s
centralised system through the Internet,
which allows it to be deployed anywhere
in the country, or the world. The solution
uses a mobile broadband modem with 3G
technology for high-speed internet access
and a toolkit including a pin pad terminal, a
thermal printer and a barcode reader.
To ensure security of the operations,
connections to the Internet are made
via a Virtual Private Network (VPN) with
restricted access. After the first phase of
the connection through regular internet
access, the application sets a private virtual
channel through the VPN that connects with
the central services of the Brazilian Post
Office service. After that the laptop effec-
tively becomes a service workstation of the
Post Office branch to which it is connected,
being then allowed to perform all opera-
tions set up for this type of service.
A pilot program of the Mobile Postal Bank
was successfully implemented in Brasília in
July 2012. All operational and technological
support activities were implemented before
deployment, including clearance from the
strategic department for installation of the
kiosk, the planning, creation and assem-
bly of the kiosk, training of attendants in
the service profile required for this type of
initiative, preparation of publicity materi-
als, preparation of banners to be displayed
on-site and the sending of informational
material to the press.
A major differential verified during the acti-
vities was the fact that many attendants, as
planned, left their booths to meet passers-
by on the streets and relay information
about the Postal Bank, its benefits and
opportunities, the functionalities supported
and the documentation required to open an
account. Many of these interactions led to
potential customers being brought to the
kiosk to formalise their membership whilst
others were advised to seek the closest
post office branch for ease of access, with
positive outcomes on membership numbers
for the Postal Bank.
Since the creation of Mobile Postal Bank,
more than 10,000 citizens have opened
bank accounts and enhanced their financial
inclusion in the process. Besides being
an important means for the promotion of
economic and social development in the
country, the mobile initiative has driven
many of its positive effects through its
success. They include:
1.
Positive expansion of the institutional
image of the partner organisations;
2.
Expansion of its position in the market
with increasing business and revenue;
3.
Strengthening of the development and
inclusion activities conducted by the
Brazilian government;
4.
The promotion of citizenship; and
5.
Contributions to the citizens' perspective
of personal growth and collective
prosperity.
The next step is to expand the Mobile
Postal Bank service to all other regional
departments of the Brazilian Post Office
Service.
3
[email protected]
Empresa Brasileira de Correios e
Telegrafos – ECT in Brazil
>
Offers the following products to end
customers: Regular Money Order,
Eurogiro Cash International
®
, and Credit
transfers
>
6,192 Postal Bank branches, fully
automated and distributed in 95% of
Brazil´s municipalities
>
Government agent for financial inclusion
>
Member of Eurogiro since 2002
Ms. Luzineth de Lima Mesquita,
Head of Financial and Postal Bank
Department, Brazilian Enterprise of
Posts and Telegraphs
1,2,3 5,6,7,8