Zenith Bank Ghana: Redefining the ease of banking
Banking as a functional part of the daily human routine, is underpinned by strong technology deployment and constant innovation. This reality did not just dawn on the financial industry – in fact like in most endeavours, there were pacesetters that predicted rightly the role of technology and thus embraced it from the onset.
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Zenith Bank Ghana clearly is in the bracket of those Banks that invested in the appropriate technology and thus were able to churn out relevant innovations which defined and continue to define the banking experience for their customers.
Recently, Zenith Bank launched GlobalPAY, an e-Commerce service, to enable companies and individuals (merchants) sell their products safely online in order to boost sales in an increasingly competitive and global marketplace.
Recognizing the vast opportunity for local companies to expand their businesses online, supported by a digital-savvy bank with a robust and state of the art technology, GlobalPAY has been designed as a secure web-based collection gateway that enables merchants to accept real-time card payments from customers worldwide.
The GlobalPAY platform serves as a link between Zenith Bank, merchants and card holders as well as payment networks such as MasterCard and Visa and very soon the gh-link cards, a local-card which was created by an offshoot of the Bank of Ghana.
The product works in two ways; the first is the “Website Integration” where the Bank integrates its payment Application Programme Interface (API) into the merchant’s website. Customers of the merchant can therefore make direct payments with their cards from the merchant’s website.
The second, known as the “Storefront” is tailored to merchants who wish to utilize the product but do not have websites and the technical capability to use the API. The Bank supports these merchants by creating an online store for them to list their products on the GlobalPay platform where customers can make purchases with their cards.
Merchants - which may include supermarkets, shopping malls, stores, large and small corporates, airlines, internet companies and virtually any entity seeking to do business or receive payments online—stand to benefit from using GlobalPAY as it increases the global reach of their businesses, grants 24/7 access to their products and services, provides real-time card authentication and payment authorization, and ensures multiple card acceptance and secure transactions via Verified by Visa (VbV) and MasterCard SecureCode (MSC).
Corporate Institutions and individuals who sign up for this product can be assured of secure transactions, real time payments, global reach, increased business channels amongst others.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank, Henry Oroh said, “With GlobalPay, we are poised as a Bank to break boundaries in the e-commerce market place and live up to our reputation of being the Best E-Commerce Bank, awarded us at the 2015 Global Banking and Finance Awards and Winner, Most Cashless Bank at the 14th Ghana Banking Awards organised by Corporate Initiative Ghana.”
Other innovations
Some of the innovative products that culminated in the Bank becoming the pacesetter in technology and innovation include its pioneering partnership with mobile telephony service operators, Airtel and MTN, to offer mobile money services to the large unbanked population.
With Zenith Bank’s partnership with Airtel and MTN Mobile Money, customers are able to link their mobile wallets to their Bank accounts to pay for goods and services.
E-ticketing and travel solutions
The Bank’s unmatched payment services efficiency has drawn more airlines, both local and international, onto its E-Ticketing and Travel Solutions platform, bringing the benefits of the Bank’s highly convenient pay options to more travellers.
Currently, the Bank collects payments for nine international and domestic airlines. The list of international airlines includes KLM, Tap Portugal, Gambia Bird, Kenya Airways, Arik Air, Dana Air and Med View Airline. These airlines fly directly or connect to most cities in the world. The domestic carriers are Africa World Airlines and Starbow which cover the main Accra-Kumasi, Accra-Takoradi and Accra-Tamale routes.
The convenience which Zenith Bank offers is that customers of these airlines can book their flights online and pay at any of the Bank’s 32 business locations across Ghana. The airlines receive instant notification of the payments and quickly dispatch customers’ flight tickets (e-tickets) to them through the e-mail address they provided when booking.
The service thus eases the booking process for flights to various destinations and the general travel experience, saving customers the time they would otherwise have spent looking for an airline’s specific office location to book and pay for their flights.
Wide range of card solutions
In addition to its technology-driven products and services, the Bank currently offers four different types of cards for people with diverse needs. These include the Zenith Eazypay card, Visa Classic Debit Card, Visa Classic Credit Card and Visa Classic Prepaid Card.
• Eazypay Cards: Issued to account holders to carry out cash withdrawal services from any Zenith ATM and make payment on any Zenith Bank enabled Point of Sale terminal.
• Zenith Visa Classic Debit Cards: Cardholders can make withdrawals on all Visa branded ATMs and make payments locally and internationally on Visa Point of Sale terminals as well as online. Funds are deducted directly from the customer’s account.
• Zenith Visa Classic Credit Cards: Grants access to a monthly line of credit based on a particular credit score.
• Zenith Visa Classic Prepaid Cards: A reloadable card loaded with the user’s own funds for purchases or withdrawals. Cardholders get instant value on the cards and have the option of loading their cards at any Zenith Bank branch or via Internet Banking.
Currently in its eleventh year of operation in Ghana, Zenith Bank has fast become the czar of innovation in the Ghanaian banking industry, and continues to distinguish itself through its ability to serve an unrivalled customer experience.
According to Henry Oroh, the Bank’s MD/CEO, “Over the years, Zenith Bank has acquired the reputation of providing innovative banking products and services that cater to the needs of our numerous customers. Never resting on its oars, the Bank continues to develop and enhance these products and services to satisfy the ever changing and growing needs of today’s customer bearing in mind the technologically driven world we live in now’’. — GB