Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) says it has launched mobile and online banking platforms hoped to improve service delivery its customers in Nigeria.
Standard Chartered Bank says the roll-out of the new service to one over million clients in Nigeria and seven other African markets in the first half of 2016 precedes launch of fingerprint recognition technology by the bank in these markets later this year.
Standard Chartered Mobile now lets customers check balances, transfer money and pay bills securely, all through their smartphone, the bank says.
Standard Chartered Bank says the new platform roll-out is the most extensive digital roll-out of its kind in Africa to let its clients get a consistent online experience across laptops, tablets or mobile phones, “and the convenience of banking from the location of their choice.”
Standard Chartered Bank announced last year that it will invest $1.5bn in technology globally over three years and says the new launch is central to its strategy of using digital technology to deliver the future of banking to clients in Africa.
According to Standard Chartered Bank, Africa’s mobile penetration is estimated to be around 67% and the launch brings Standard Chartered mobile banking application to Botswana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe for the first time, while in Nigeria and Ghana, mobile banking clients will move to the bank’s standard global platform.
“We’re bringing the best in mobile banking to Africa. Consumers across the continent are increasingly affluent and tech-savvy and they want convenient access to their bank, wherever they happen to be. Africa is important to Standard Chartered and this launch is another demonstration of that”, Karen Fawcett, Standard Chartered CEO for Retail Banking says.
Standard Chartered Bank says it is also upgrading its online banking platform in these eight markets so clients will benefit from improved navigation and user-friendly interfaces on the bank’s websites.
Clients will soon be able to use a new self-service option for wealth management that lets them set up their investment profiles online and find out which products are most suitable by answering a series of questions on their financial position, investment objectives and risk tolerance, according to the bank.
Standard Chartered adds that “clients will enjoy a consistent mobile and online banking experience, the bank said stressing that usernames and passwords, beneficiaries, standing instructions and bill payees are replicated across both channels and also, paying bills is easier too as the revamp comes with an expanded list of utility companies, cable TV and Internet providers.”
Jaydeep Gupta, Standard Chartered Regional Head of Retail Banking for Africa and the Middle East says the bank is “committed to making banking easier, faster and safer for our more than one million retail clients across Africa.”
Gupta further stated by early next year, the bank expect at least 35% of all client transactions to be done through online channels to significantly advance the transformation of banking in Africa.
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