The Acting Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo revealed to PINA delegates that ANZ has won the tender to provide rural banking to the main provincial centers in the country.
Lilo announced that ANZ in collaboration with the Government will run ATMs on direct current (DC) from batteries powered by a solar panel."I must congratulate ANZ, and we look forward to working in partnership with them to deliver services to our rural population" said Lilo. "The initial plan is to provide at least six solar powered banks to some of the main provincial centers"
Lilo stated that at least three new mobile services will also be made available sometime soon as part of the rural banking plan.
Lilo highlighted that the partnership will help to address the issue of distance when it comes to banking. Lilo stated that the government will support the rural initiative for at least three years.
One of the delegates from PNG stated that people in remote areas of this country will finally have something to cheer about. "For, even without power, they may soon be able to utilize the services of automated teller machines (ATMs) for their monetary transactions" the delegate said. "For this I must say Solomon Islands is a pioneer in the region"