FCB launches 26th branch in Harare- Machipisa

Malvern Nkomo

First Capital Bank opened its 26th branch at Machipisa Shopping Centre in Highfield – Harare on Saturday, to offer banking services to the community as well as greater convenience to its clients.

The bank said the branch was once closed under Barclays Bank, but First Capital Bank saw the need to re-open it upon realising that the area presented huge opportunities.

Consumer Banking Director, Angela Kamhiriri, said the branch will be a service centre offering basic banking services such as opening new accounts, cash withdrawals and deposits as well as processing civil servant loans.

“It is a service centre. It does not have complex banking services like Exchange Control, Switching of funds among others but we are doing just basic banking which are the MTA’s where you are collecting your remittances, opening new accounts and issuing bank cards.

She said a fully functional Automated Teller Machine (ATM) will be expected in about a month, accepting both local and international VISA and Mastercards.

“Barclays was an international bank and we are a regional bank. We understand Africa so we deliver solutions for Africa and because of that we have really experienced growth over the past years as First Capital Bank.

“We are able to customise and meet client’s needs as and when they are required,” said Kamhiriri.

She also said the branch was closed as part of the Barclays strategy, but the re-opening of the branch by First Capital bank signifies that the area has great potential for the bank.

“The banking sector in Zimbabwe has always been stable and we are looking forward to better times to come. There has been a steady growth, people moving from the informal sector to formal banking,” she added.

Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe was acquired in 2018 by Mauritius based First Capital Bank, the holding company for FMBCapital Group and the move saw FMBCapital group acquiring 42 percent shareholding in Barclays Bank of Zimbabwe.

First Capital delisted from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and listed on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange in May 2023.