Barclays Bank has rebranded as Absa Ghana with a formal event to finalise the move, Monday. 

Barclays Bank is going ahead with this after completing the required internal and external rebranding to its new brand and corporate colours, that is the red and white colours of Absa.

A visit to some of the branches in Accra last night revealed a touch red lights beamed on some of their major buildings in the metropolis. A similar observation has been made at some of its branches at the regional capitals.

Why the Change?

Barclays Bank Ghana rebranding is due to the decision by its parent  Absa Group to rebrand all its operations in Africa.

This was after Barclays PLC decided to reduce its holding in Barclays Africa. The move gave Barclays Africa the majority stake in Barclays Bank's subsidiaries in Africa. 

In 2016, Barclays PLC announced its intention to reduce its majority shareholding in its African business (Barclays Africa Group) and gradually sold part of its shares to hundreds of established investors through the South African Stock exchange to become a non-controlling shareholder with a 14.9% stake.

This paved the way for the renaming and rebranding of the Barclays Africa Group to Absa Group Limited in July 2018.

What should we expect?

According to officials of Barclays Bank now Absa Ghana, the exciting services that customers receive would not be disrupted in any way, despite the rebranding. Instead, they should expect an improved service offering from today.  

Absa argues that the plan to leverage on the strong financial standing of its new parent company that Absa Africa Group to help grow the brand in Ghana after 100 years of service.

"As  Absa Bank, we are not only building on the heritage of over 100 years of banking in Ghana, we are also one of Africa’s top three largest banks, backed by a large capital base and balance sheet - boasting of close to a $100 billion in assets," Absa said.

Absa added that: “we are not only building on the heritage of over 100 years of banking in Ghana, we are also one of Africa’s top three largest banks, backed by a large capital base and balance sheet - boasting of close to a $100 billion in assets.”

Some unique product offering

One of the unique products that will be associated with this rebranding is the ‘Vertical Cards’. This represents a drastic change from its horizontal cards.

 According to Absa, the Vertical Cards are designed to be better suited to how customers actually use them these days, whether in the ATM, swiping, tapping or safely stored in their wallet or purse.

These cards are designed to be as future-proof as possible, so all new Absa cards will soon be tap-and-pay enabled.

Who is Absa Group?

Absa Group Limited is Absa Bank Botswana Limited’s parent company and is one of the top 40 companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

The bank is one of Africa’s largest diversified financial services groups, offering an integrated set of products and services across personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management and insurance.

The Group has a presence in 12 African countries and an international representative office in London and a soon-to-open one in New York.

The Group has approximately 40,000 employees, more than 1,000 branches, and nearly 10,000 ATMs.

The Group’s registered head office is in Johannesburg and it owns majority stakes in banks in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania (Absa Bank Tanzania and National Bank of Commerce), Uganda and Zambia.

Apart from offices in London and soon in New York, the Group also has representative offices in Namibia and Nigeria, as well as insurance operations in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia.

The new Absa brand represents a uniquely diverse African banking group whose purpose is to bring the possibility to life.

How Barclays Ghana become Absa, the timelines