Responding to today's banking needs in innovative ways

Digitization was expected to fundamentally change banking in ways that made brick and mortar banking seem obsolete. In this part of the world, the transformation was happening at a slow but gradual pace. Banks had fortified their digital platforms to respond to the needs and demands of the times.

Then COVID-19 hit. It quickly dawned on the world that digitization is not on the future but rather in the here and now with a huge impact on how to respond to customer demands.

The imposition of restrictions on movements and social distancing as measures to stem the spread of the pandemic meant banks and indeed all businesses had to evolve new and innovative ways of serving their customers across the world.

The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic has also thrown into focus the need to simplify customer needs and fully embrace digitization.

The pandemic has fundamentally altered the way humans interact with each other and their environment. This new reality offers banks an opportunity to now fast track an inevitable process that was moving at a snail pace in the country.

Stanbic Ghana in responding to what has become the ‘new normal’ has put a number of interventions in place to make sure that customers are able to have all their banking needs met while staying safe in the comforts of their homes or remotely.

The bank has introduced its 41st branch, a virtual branch that allows customers of the bank do all their banking online without having to go to a physical branch. This 24-hour virtual branch also allows customers to manage their accounts, loans, investments and make payments including interbank payments.

To further make customers have very little or no need for physical branches, Stanbic Bank has enhanced services provided by their ATMs across the country. Presently, Stanbic ATMs do not only allow customers to access funds but also transfer money between different accounts. Customers can also make cash deposits and make withdrawals with or without a card.

Customers can now withdraw up to GHS10,000 from any Stanbic ATM while at the same time allowing MTN and AirtelTigo mobile money customers to withdraw money from their wallets through a token generation-redemption process.

Another digital platform Stanbic Bank is using to respond to the banking needs of the times is the Stanbic Bank App. The app allows customers to update their personal details, view all accounts in one place, load and pay beneficiaries, make once-off payments, transfer funds, view statements, buy airtime, electricity and prepaid TV and more.

The app also sends proof of payments by SMS or email to customers’ beneficiaries.

The app allows customers to view their transaction history, account balance and locate the nearest ATM or branch. With the app, customers have easy access to important numbers such as Lost Card and Customer Contact Centre.

Customers can also view information on other products that enables them to manage their finances better. For added security and where applicable, customers can use fingerprint or facial recognition to log into the app.

Over the years, Stanbic Bank has leapfrogged its digitization process to be one of the leading technologically inclined banks. While institutions are transforming to meet the exigencies of the times, there is a need for customers and entrepreneurs to adopt new innovations to make the most of the digital offerings available to them.

Arguably, COVID-19, though initially a piece of bad news, has proven to be a harbinger of good tidings for all things digital. The race is on for all societies to get as closely linked to the virtual world as far as possible.