Bolivia, May 3, 2021 — Bolivian financial institution BancoSol announced today the launch of GanaSol, a gamified tool that incentivizes customers to utilize digital banking services, as part of the bank’s efforts to provide quality financial services to a larger and more diverse population of Bolivians. GanaSol is built into AppSol 3.0, BancoSol’s new mobile digital banking management platform.
BancoSol currently serves more than 1.2 million clients. Through a partnership with Mastercard and global nonprofit Accion, BancoSol is deepening its use of digital technologies to improve access to quality financial services. GanaSol is the first product developed through a new innovation hub, CibSol, that was created through the partnership to help BancoSol both develop new and improve existing products for Bolivia’s micro-merchants.
GanaSol allows BancoSol’s customers to earn points for maintaining or increasing their savings account balances. By banking through AppSol 3.0, customers can redeem their points for cash prizes by spinning a virtual roulette wheel, or through weekly or monthly draws.
“Through GanaSol, we will be able to provide digital banking to thousands of people who for different reasons have been marginalized by traditional financial services. We’re going to use the game as a tool to break down the psychological barriers between people and finance,” explained BancoSol’s National Deputy Manager of Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility, José Luis Zavala.
“We want all of our customers, regardless of their previous experience in digital banking, regardless of age, or any other consideration, to access the services of our app. We are confident that entertainment, coupled with the possibility of winning prizes, will encourage Bolivians to make the leap to 21st century banking,” Zavala said.
The gamification of banking services is part of BancoSol’s efforts to improve financial inclusion by providing digital financial tools and resources to traditionally excluded sectors and contributes to the following Sustainable Development Goals: 1 Ending Poverty, 8 Economic Growth, and 10 Reducing Inequalities.
Anyone with an individual active savings account with BancoSol can access GanaSol by downloading the mobile application AppSol 3.0. Users must activate GanaSol on the application in order to accumulate points and redeem them for opportunities to earn cash.
“With the launch of GanaSol we want to deconstruct the idea that finances are boring. We want people to have an engaging way to participate with online banking,” Zavala said.
GanaSol was developed with the support of Accion’s Global Advisory Solutions team, through a global partnership between Accion and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth that aims to power micro and small businesses to successfully operate in, and benefit from, the digital economy. Combining expertise in innovative customer engagement strategies and digital product development, Accion’s advisory team has closely collaborated with the BancoSol team on this journey.
“As the world’s first commercial bank dedicated to serving micro and small businesses, BancoSol is a pioneer in financial inclusion and uniquely positioned to reach Bolivia’s financially underserved populations. We are excited to work with them as they enter their next phase of digital transformation. The launch of GanaSol – the first product developed through the new innovation hub, CibSol – is an important milestone in our partnership with Mastercard to help micro-merchants leverage the digital economy,” said Victoria White, Managing Director of Accion Global Advisory Solutions.
“As the digital economy grows, there is an enormous opportunity to deliver innovative financial products and services that meet the needs of micro and small businesses,” said Luz Gomez, director with of Mastercard’s Center for Inclusive Growth for Latin America and the Caribbean. “The launch of GanaSol demonstrates the need for private and civic sector organizations to collaborate on data-driven, digitally enabled solutions that can help build more inclusive and sustainable economies.”
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About Accion
Accion is a global nonprofit committed to creating a financially inclusive world, with a pioneering legacy in microfinance and fintech impact investing. We catalyze financial service providers to deliver high-quality, affordable solutions at scale for the three billion people who are left out of — or poorly served by — the financial sector. For nearly 60 years, Accion has helped tens of millions of people through our work with more than 160 partners in 55 countries. More at http://www.accion.org.
About the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth
The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth advances equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world. The Center leverages the company’s core assets and competencies, including data insights, expertise and technology, while administering the philanthropic Mastercard Impact Fund, to produce independent research, scale global programs and empower a community of thinkers, leaders and doers on the front lines of inclusive growth. For more information and to receive its latest insights, follow the Center on Twitter, @CNTR4growth, LinkedIn and subscribe to its newsletter.