'I don’t want a bank account because my neighbours will think I’m rich'
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Version 0 of 1. In 2008, when my company, Attijariwafa Bank, the largest financial institution in Morocco, looked to address one of the most underserved areas in retail banking in the country – that of providing financial services for low-income customers – we never expected it would be the monthly bank statement that would put people off signing up for their first account. Most people without bank accounts were looking for solutions to save money, not to borrow. Families were looking for health insurance and savings products to pay for their children’s education. They also explained why, despite living near several bank branches, they hadn’t walked into one before: they were turned off by their fancy appearance, and thought they were not for “people like them”. Related: Banks need a paradigm shift to make headway in developing countries Marble, glass, modern furniture and lighting, bright colours, computers on all desks, anonymous advisers and tellers who weren’t from their neighbourhood and abided by a strict business dress code, seemed very intimidating. Those who knew more about banking services said that the fees were too high, despite our basic banking fees being below £1 per month, including free checkbooks. These were all concerns we could have foreseen. What we didn’t expect was for our prospective new customers to say what they valued most was privacy and confidentiality. Wives wanted to hide their savings away from their husbands, otherwise they might be tempted to spend them unwisely. Households did not want their neighbours to know that they had a bank account, otherwise they may try to borrow money from them. They wanted no change to their way of life, just the comfort of knowing that their savings were stored properly and available upon request in a simple and convenient way. They didn’t want the bank account to make them feel different from other people in their communities. In the traditional Moroccan way of life, displaying wealth has always been frowned upon. In the old medinas, even the most beautiful riads, traditional houses with open rooms organised around internal courtyards still have anonymous, often unpainted external walls. Many popular Moroccan proverbs associate fancy appearance with suspicious or malicious intentions. One of the five pillars of Islam is zakat, which dictates that a share of personal income and assets be given to the poor, preferably family and neighbours, with a strong recommendation to keep the donation confidential out of respect for the dignity of the receiving party. Belonging to a community and having an established social position was not so much about the assets that one owned, but, among other things, how these assets were used for the good of the community. Put in context, the reaction of many of our prospective new customers was perhaps only another expression of these old traditions and the relationship to money these traditions implied. Related: The bank, the boss, your parents: global borrowing trends mapped So, when presented with the product that Attijariwafa bank was thinking of offering them, people liked most of its features but unanimously rejected one: the bank statement. This piece of paper would arrive monthly at a house, where often many families would live. It may get lost on its way because informal housing has made some postal addresses unreliable. And the idea that someone else may read this slip of paper with details of their financial assets was a horrifying concept to anyone concerned about keeping their finances private. For us, sending out bank statements was also cumbersome and expensive, but unfortunately, it was also mandatory. But we were able to make a case for exempting this feature, on the condition that a statement could be printed at no charge at any branch or ATM. Related: The microfinance delusion: who really wins? Our bank account for low-income customers was launched in 2009, with feedback from customers also shaping how we set it up and our distribution method. When we first considered reaching low-income customers, 9 million people in Morocco didn’t have a bank account. Six years on, we’re now catering for them. I think we’re the bank that most adapted to the needs of the unbanked population. Ismail Douiri is director general at Attijariwafa bank in Morocco. Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians. Follow @GuardianGDP on Twitter. Use #NOunbanked |