FNB Namibia to close some branches

First National Bank (FNB) Namibia closed four district branches due to reduced customer volumes resulting from increased use of alternative banking channels.

The Oshikuku FNB branch closed last month while the Arandis, Usakos, and Klein Windhoek branches will be closing by end of March 2021.

FNB Executive Officer for Points of Presence, Rodney Forbes said the closure of the branches is due to the availability of convenient and affordable alternative banking channels and their increased adoption by customers over traditional branches.

“It is no longer viable for us to continue with physical presence of branches at these locations. We are constantly finding ways and means to ensure that every customer has access to banking services without a physical branch,” he said, adding that the bank’s digitisation journey has been successful thus far and has cemented the bank’s outlook that expanding and increasing its branch and ATM footprint is not part of its overall digitalisation strategy.

FNB, he said, has a regular review of its representation points and locations, and take into account other offerings including digital banking technology such as Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), online banking and the FNB App, as well as the increasing availability of alternative channels such as Cash at Till, eWallet at Till, and CashPlus where cash can be deposited and withdrawn, especially in rural areas.

Forbes further stated that the bank has engaged stakeholders regarding the closure of the branches and no staff member will be retrenched but will rather be redeployed into other business units within the business. - Nampa