Colombia’s Post brings credit to the masses with bank link-up
Colombia’s national postal operator 4-72 is expanding into the provision of financial services. The company is teaming up with the Bancolombia SA to make its network of branches available to provide loans and other services to its customers.
The move will help drive traffic to its branches, diversify revenues and help to bring access to credit for people in rural areas – helping with the overall development of the country.
4-72 president Juan Ernesto Vargas Uribe said the partnership with the Bank of Colombia was testament to the high level of trust in his company has now achieved.
The company went through liquidation four years ago as Adpostal, but after a massive rebranding and restructuring is now profitable. A new four-year strategy is now being assembled to coincide with the administrative term of Colombia’s new president Juan Manuel Santos, with a key ambition to diversify revenues.
Vargas said the financial services partnership has started with a limited portfolio of financial services, but that the range of products will grow.
He told Post&Parcel: “We do think that this alliance will build traffic into our network – it’s positive for our country and for our company. The biggest bank in Colombia chose to work with us.
Starting in a handful of branches a few months ago, the provision of financial services is to be spread across Colombia in the long-term, to reach out to rural towns.
Branches are being remodeled to offer multiple services and support government efforts to foster business in more rural areas.
Vargas explained: “Colombia is still an undeveloped country, with high levels of poverty. The government has a programme that aims to make credit more accessible for the people. For banks, opening a branch in a rural place is very expensive – but here we are with the infrastructure in place. And bringing credit to rural areas helps to develop our country.”
The president of 4-72 spoke last week at the World Mail and Express Americas conference in Mexico City, laying out how he had turned around the company under its new brand, 4-72, which refers to the geographical co-ordinates of the centre of Colombia.
The first four-year strategy has seen a period of consolidation, modernization and significant increases in the security of the company’s postal delivery network. It now has annual revenues of around $90m USD and profits in the region of $8m-$10m according to its president.
The company now plans to build up the quality of its services, diversify revenues through the offering of new products, and pursue the opportunities from e-commerce and electronic communications.
“Slowly but steadily I think that the market is recognizing this new company is a company that is improving,” said Vargas.
