BPR Atlas Mara on Thursday opened up a new branch in Kigali’s Central Business District as part of the efforts to ease services delivery to its clients.

In a colourful ceremony, the bank unveiled an upgraded mobile and internet banking platforms by adding more services.

The new branch is equipped with self-serve options with ten tablets connected to free internet.

"You are very important stakeholders in our business,” BPR Atlas Mara’s Managing Director, Maurice Toroitich, told clients. "This business cannot be what it is without you. This new branch is part of a long transformation process that the bank is already engaging in.”

Since 2018, BPR has been making significant financial outlays, in part to digitise its banking services.

The bank has improved services at most of its branches and relocated some of them to better places for the comfort of its customers.

The new branch, which is located on the ground floor of the new multimillion-dollar headquarters.

The new branch, located in the 12-storied building, boasts of first-class digital self-service platforms.

The bank has also deployed 312 agents across the country to supplement its network of branches.

The bank has also digitised over 90 per cent of its services, leveraging on the prestige of being the pioneer of digital banking Rwanda.

In the near future, bank official said, they plan to take the loan application procedure online, eventually scrapping the old-fashioned form-filling practice.

This is in addition to efforts to internationalise its credit and debit cards.

"At the end of the day, there is nothing good for the bank if it is not good for its customers,” Toroitich commented.

BPR’s Board Chair, Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u, said the multi-dollar investment in the transformation process is a landmark commitment that the bank is not going anywhere soon.

With half a million clients, BPR is one of Rwanda’s largest lenders.

With the new improvements, it hopes to expand its customer base and entice its inactive portfolio.

Established in 1975 as a pool of small savings and credit groups in the Eastern Province, BPR has transformed into one of the biggest retail banks in the country offering a wide range of products that include current and savings accounts, debit and credit cards, mortgages and loans.

The Bank offers consumer banking tools like mobile and internet banking as well as agricultural business expertise to corporate customers in the food and agri-business value chain.