Standard Chartered reiterates commitment to Africa's digital journey

Standard Chartered Bank has reiterated its unflinching commitment to the digital journey to meet the changing needs of customers across Africa, saying the agenda is huge and on course.

Mr Jaydeep Gupta, the Regional Head, Retail Banking Africa and Middle East Standard Chartered Bank, said the investments in digital technologies on the continent is not limited to some countries but across all markets where the bank is present.

“This is not only in Ghana. This is something we are doing pan-Africa and this roll out are now cutting across all markets that we are present. This is just not about key markets. This not about small-scale investments. This is a material investment we are making,” he said.

Mr Gupta, who was interacting with a section of the media in Accra, said many of these investments in retail platforms had started but yet to be completed.

He said the key motivation for the digital drive is the customer and not cost, since the bank’s view was important for customers to be reached through different delivery channels.

“Things are changing in a tremendous way. What is motivating the change is not cost. What is motivating the change is what the customer wants. Customer will dictate what he or she wants. The reality is that you need to adapt to the change and embrace the change,” Mr Gupta said.

Mr Henry Baye, Head of Retail Banking Ghana and West Africa, said the bank has a continuous mindset to improve and to continuously remain relevant to customers and so is investing in digital technologies to ensure that clients’ needs are met.

“I think one of the things that is clear that every industry and every business needs to respond to their customers. Now our world is changing and its changing faster than any of us can think or even appreciate.

He said the changes were really on the forefront of driving what all businesses and governments should do to enable private institutions to take advantage of the fast growing digital experience.

Mr Baye said Standard Chartered had taken issues of cyber security seriously and was at the forefront of ensuring that it built a state of the art secure system to provide customers safety and the peace of mind in using the bank’s digital platform.

“As banks we will not be doing justice to ourselves when we continue doing business the way we’ve always done it. The sheer expansion of technology is going to drive strategy. Our plan is how to build the interface between technology and skills of our people to ensure that we are maximising the skills of our people, and dedication of the people we employ,” he added.