Dalex offers free cash to govt workers

Dalex Finance and Leasing Company Ltd is working on changing the face of lending in the country with ethical financial practices, such as lending only what is within a client’s means.

The company has accordingly trained its sales executives who are now known as “Dalex Paddy”, denoting friendliness and professionalism, to be on top of their jobs by going beyond their primary duty of credit creation, to responsible and ethical credit offering which should not burden borrowers unduly.

For instance, although the present economic climate creates the strong temptation to borrow more than may be prudent, Dalex Finance is exercising leadership in the sector by promoting ethical lending, whereby clients will not be pushed to borrow more than they need.

Subsequently, the company has announced a promotion christened, ‘Cash Dash’ to give back cash ranging between GH¢25 and GH¢250, depending on the credit, to government workers, the company’s primary clients.

Explaining the rationale behind the rebranding of the sales executives to ‘Dalex Paddy’, the Chief Executive Officer of Dalex Finance, Mr Ken Thompson, told a news conference in Accra on June 3 that “when you need a loan, you think first of your friend because you trust your friends and know that they care about you. Likewise, we want our sales force to provide services to our clients as friends, hence the name ‘Dalex Paddy’.

Dalex, a non-bank financial services company, provides loans to salaried workers, primarily those on government payroll such as nurses, doctors, teachers, the security agencies, public and civil servants.

Salaried workers can take loans of between GH¢500.00 and GH¢10,000 and collect monthly deductions directly from the Controller and Accountant General’s Department.

The company also provides various types of financing to small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs), with a minimum transaction size of GH¢50,000.

Mr Thompson said the promo was to celebrate the ‘Dalex Paddy’, which currently has about 750 sales force across the country, as well as its customers. 

According to Mr Ken Thompson, as part of what he described as ethical lending, the ‘Dalex Paddy’ would ensure that clients were aware of the full cost of the loan, rather than “simply advertising speed and accessibility of funds.” 

He said the company had been undertaking a massive nation-wide retraining programme, since last year, to transform the Dalex Sales Agents into the friendly and ethical “Dalex Paddy’ force. 

The training was carried out in partnership with the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Business Edge Programme.