Banco Rioja
When the quarantine meant Argentina's rural residents couldn't travel to cities to access banking services, we found a creative way to bring banking to them.
WHAT THEY NEEDED
A way to bring banking services to isolated customers
Many of the rural villages that dot the countryside of Argentina are stunningly beautiful, a nature lover’s paradise—and each village has a few thousand people who call them home. But what they have in beauty they lack in some practicalities, like bank branches. Because of their small populations, it’s cost prohibitive to build a branch in these locations. So traditionally rural populations in Argentina simply go to bigger cities to receive banking services.
And when the pandemic reached Argentina, it ultimately resulted in an unexpected quarantine that left many without access to banking essentials. Banco Rioja, the main bank in La Rioja, Argentina, wanted to find a way to quickly bring banking services to people living in those isolated villages, but they didn’t know how, exactly.
Connecting to our isolated customers quickly became a priority during the pandemic. The problem was, how were we going to reach them? NCR helped us find the best solution possible especially considering the circumstances. — Banco Rioja
WHAT WE DELIVERED
An out-of-the-box plan, with two ATMs and a van
They came to NCR and together we devised an out-of-the-box creative solution. In just 25 days, Banco Rioja and NCR partnered to build a mobile bank branch. Now Banco Rioja has a van with dual mounted NCR ATMs equipped with satellite communications, image systems, office space, and advertising screens that’s bringing banking services to some of the most remote villages in Argentina.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
Thousands are getting the banking services they need
Banco Rioja launched its mobile bank under the name “Banco Rioja Movil” to give the people in these villages the banking services they need to continue working and thriving. The mobile unit is fully capable of providing even complex banking services, including ATM operations, loan requests, credit lines for small enterprises and businesses, opening accounts, credit and debit card inquiries, card deliveries and more. It’s provided a much-needed lifeline to thousands with Movil’s mobile bank now handling a few thousand transactions a month while providing essential services—and it’s far less costly than building new branch locations.