Standard Chartered unveils mobile and online banking in Africa
Karen Fawcett, Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered is bringing its mobile and online banking platform to eight countries in Africa.
After the roll-out to Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe in the first half of 2016, the bank will launch fingerprint recognition technology in these markets later in the year.
Karen Fawcett, Standard Chartered’s CEO for retail banking, says: “Consumers across the continent are increasingly affluent and tech-savvy and they want convenient access to their bank, wherever they happen to be.”
Jaydeep Gupta, Standard Chartered’s regional head of retail banking for Africa and the Middle East, adds: “By early next year, we expect at least 35% of all client transactions to be done through online channels; significantly advancing the transformation of banking in Africa.”
Standard Chartered says Africa’s mobile penetration is estimated to be around 67%, and it will use its mobile banking application, Standard Chartered Mobile, in Botswana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe for the “first time”.
In Nigeria and Ghana, mobile banking clients will move to its standard global platform.
Through Standard Chartered Mobile, clients can check balances, transfer money and pay bills, through their smartphones.
Farewell, paper
Earlier this year, Standard Chartered launched its “Bank on an iPad” sales and service tool in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Called Retail Workbench, it is a digital tablet-based sales-and-service tool that “brings the bank” to clients.
It is integrated with the bank’s back-end infrastructure, and will allow sales staff to open an account for a client in any location. Standard Chartered says banking services like loan approvals and credit card issuance will be completely paperless.
