KCB launches new strategy to reach population without bank accounts

By STANDARD REPORTER

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group has reached a key milestone in its strategy to reach the unbanked by launching a new product dubbed M-Benki.

The product allows customers to establish an account with the bank through KCB Mobi Bank platform.

KCB Group Chief Business Officer Samuel Makome said this form of banking will accelerate the reach to the unbanked in the entire East Africa region and ease the challenge of having to physically go to a bank and register a bank account.

“M-Benki is a way of opening a KCB account through the phone and customers access banking services through KCB Mobi Bank. This in turn allows our customers to easily access our services anywhere in the globe,” he said. Studies from the Central Bank of Kenya have shown that there are 29.8 million mobile users in Kenya and majority of these use mobile banking as a means for day to day transactions.This gives the banking industry a platform to reach the unbanked in the country with a proposition for value addition in having a bank account through the mobile phone. 

KCB has a vast reach in not only Kenya but also the entire East Africa region with its branch network and connectivity.

The East Africa region provides a rich geographical avenue to entrench mobile banking and open up economies in the localities through offering services such as M-Benki.

KCB handles over Sh7.8 billion worth of mobile money transactions monthly, Sh1.4 billion in deposits per month, over Sh10 million in pay bill services and salary processing.

This trend signifies a noteworthy tilt in financial transactions trends towards mobile banking. “The banking industry is highly competitive with customer offerings and mobile banking is certainly not an exception,” said Makome.

He said what this means is that it is rapidly becoming a necessity to not only deliver mobile banking, but to ensure the mobile interface is customer or member-friendly.