GTBank Becomes Licenced Visa Merchant Acquirer

A major boost for Gambian Tourism Industry

2009-12-21

Guaranty Trust Bank (Gambia) Ltd, the first and only Gambia Bank Principal Member of Visa International has received a formal approval and license as “Visa Merchant Acquirer”. The Merchant Acquirer status, the first and the only again for any Gambian bank, would enable GTBank sign up merchants (hotels, airlines, restaurants, tour operators, car rental companies), deploy Point of Sales (POS) terminals to their business locations where visa cards can be swiped to effect payments for services or do cash back transactions.

This license is coming on the heels of an earlier license acquired by GTBank as a Principal Member of Visa International. Principal membership grants the right to GTBank to issue Visa Cards under its own name and brand as well as provide ATM platforms that accept Visa Cards issued any where in the world. Visa operates the world's largest electronic payments network and is one of the most recognized global financial services brand which is acceptable in more than 29 million locations and over 1 million ATMs in the globe.

In a beaming mood, the Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank, Mr. Lekan Sanusi says “today, we confirm once again our unflinching interest in the economic development of The Gambia. Tourism is an important sector to this country. The crossing of this hurdle represents an ultimate solution to a key payment and collection problems for the tourism industry. Payments for services by tourists in hotels, restaurants, airlines, car rentals etc can now be instant, on line and real time by just the swiping of customers’ visa cards on GTBank POS, instant debit of card holders and credit of merchants. This is in sharp contrast to the current cumbersome process of off-line swiping of cards, batching and courier of receipts to Kenya every forthnight and waiting anxiously for payments thereafter. Out of frustration, some hotels have stopped accepting cards while some have even lost money to unpaid remittance etc”.

As a Principal member of Visa, GTBank has completed the technical implementation of a card issuing bank and ATM acquirer. GTBank has issued its own branded visa card . The bank Visa card (a Classic debit card) is denominated in Gambian Dalasis. The card is directly linked to customers Dalasis account (current or savings) and is acceptable worldwide. The card can also be used to shop on the internet. What a GTBank Visa Card holder needs to do is to ensure that his or her account in GTBank is funded, that is, the account has cleared funds in Dalasis. There is no hassle or inconvenience of having to provide or look for dollars to load into the card. ‘…when you obtain a Visa card in the UK, it is issued in pounds, in the US it is dollars…….GTBank visa card is issued in The Gambia and hence it is denominated in Gambian Dalasis’ says the bank’s chief spokesperson, Babou Gai.

One other good news is that GTBank ATM can now accept visa cards. In essence, the banks four ATM machines located at Kairaba Avenue, Senegambia, Africell building and Serrekunda can now complement the existing other banks’ ATM machine and dispense cash to visa card holders, who are mainly tourists and visitors to The Gambia.

Guaranty Trust Bank has been in the fore-front of innovation in The Gambian Banking sector since its inception with the pioneering of on line Real Time banking and has over the years championed the introduction of E-products such as Internet banking, Slip-free banking and the Cashplus Card.

GTBank is a Direct Agent of Western Union and provides the platform for its customers as well as non-customers to send or receive money through its wide branch network to and from any part of the world. There is also “GTB Joni Joni Cash” which is a local money transfer service that enables customers and non-customers to send or receive money at GTBank branches instantly within The Gambia.

GTBank is now operating from thirteen locations with its head office located along Kairaba Avenue and twelve other branches located in Banjul, Serekunda, Senegambia, Brikama, Bamboo, Kanifing, Latrikunda Sabiji, Brusubi, Bundung, Farafenni , Old Jeshwang and Banjul 2( No.3 Liberation Avenue).