Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 11
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
Agent banking may appear in the banking sector of Azerbaijan, a source in the government told Trend.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is currently implementing a project on electronic and digital financial services in Azerbaijan, the source said. Within the project, IFC offers the Financial Market Supervisory Authority to consider the possibility of introducing the so-called agent banking in the country.
The source noted that the emergence of agents could help simplify the provision of a number of banking services, such as opening accounts.
The source added that two types of agents are the most common in the world practice: own and outsourcing. Own agent network is created by the bank itself. The advantage of this approach is that the bank applies its service standards and can better control the activities of agents.
As for the outsourcing model, the source continued, it involves working with a super-agent, which, in turn, is engaged in the selection, management and monitoring of sub-agents. In this case, a network of supermarkets, gas stations, etc. may act as a super-agent. This approach allows covering a large geography.
In general, he noted, the introduction of agent banking can help expand the sale of financial products.
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