Accelerating access to financial services for the poor: Best practice from VBSP

(VBSP News) To help the poor and other last-mile population especially in remote, mountainous and rural areas access the Government’s policy credit programmes and other services in such a equal, democratic, cost-saving and convenient manner, to enhance the observation of local authorities, socio-political unions in policy credit conduction, VBSP has performed transaction at commune, ward and township (so-called commune) to serve poor households and other marginalized ones.

Commune transaction activity is defined as: "Transaction activity at communes, wards and towns (referred to as communes) is the way of organizing transactions of VBSP with customers at the Commune Transaction Point (CTP) located in the head office of Commune People's Committee”.

The field staff team is conducting transaction with customers at CTP

To serve customers at CTP, each VBSP district branch set up commune transaction teams, each team has got three field staff at minimum to take charge of such titles as team leader, controller and teller. The team transacts with customers at commune with the following activities:

• Directly disbursing loan to borrowers, principal collection from customers, loan interest and micro-savings gathering from SCG leaders who are entrusted by the bank to collect monthly loan interest or micro-savings from group members.
• To mobilize savings deposit at commune.
• To pay entrusted cost and commission for local socio-political unions and SCGs.
• To conduct activities in terms of overdue debt treatment.
• To hold monthly meetings with socio-political unions, SCG leaders and local authorities.
• To communicate and guide new products and services.

To serve for the commune transaction session, the team is provided with car, laptop, counterfeit money detector, money counter, camera, electric generator, protection tools etc. At the commune transaction point, VBSP discloses credit policies, the repayment schedule, active borrower list and borrowing procedures on the bulletin board or banner and on VBSP website to ensure information transparency, facilitating the observation of the local socio-political unions, authorities and the community participation on policy credit performance. VBSP also set up a hotline phone number and a complaint box at all bank offices and commune transaction points; open the "Q&A" category on the bank’s website to receive feedback from customers and others.

Ethnic customers are viewing credit information on the bulletin board at CTP

VBSP staff are guiding for customers at CTP

The commune transaction activities are assessed in terms of both qualitative and quantitative criteria. The quantitative criteria includes: (i) Indicators reflect the volume and rate of transactions at the commune; (ii) Indicators reflecting the transaction time in the commune; (iii) Indicators reflect errors in transaction activities in the commune. The qualitative indicators include: Legality; Organization and modes of operation; Transaction behavior of field staff; Customer satisfaction.

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