Karl Stumke, CEO of Barclays Bank

?I have been in Mauritius for around six months. There are several things that have marked me regarding the relationship between people and the bank. The first thing that I have noticed is that Barclays tends to be perceived as the bank of rich people! That is definitely going to change! We are opening new branches in areas where we are not represented. Banks should be accessible to all Mauritians! Everyone has a basic right of having access to banking just as they have for water, electricity and so on!

Some people find it expensive to bank. This is why since I have come here, we (Barclays) have started offering a lot of new products and brought down tariffs on several things. I know some people feel sometimes embarrassed to come to a bank. They should certainly not feel this way! There are countries such as Kenya and other parts of Africa where all spheres of people (rich or poor) are customers of Barclays Bank. Moreover we should bear in mind that the poor people in Mauritius are still well off compared to those in Africa.

On the other hand, banks should know what their customers want. For example, regarding the opening hours, I always find amazing that the queues are always longer during lunch hours. People do their banking during lunch time, so I had to change the lunchtime of my staff. But this would not be the same thing everywhere. For example, at Ebene, people are working round the clock. They might want to bank at any time. Our branches need to reflect more the market they are operating in!

Furthermore, I should say there are several things that can be done through ATMs overseas, which is not the case here. I have seen this in countries such as South Africa or even Zambia. In ATMs abroad, you can top up your cell phones, book your cinema tickets, order flowers and pay your electricity bills. I admit that there has been an extent of sophistication regarding the use of credit cards and so on by customers. But this should go further so that Mauritians make better use of banks! Here, at Barclays, we are working on it!?