Banking technology conference comes to Nairobi

By James Ratemo

A high-profile banking technology conference is set for Nairobi this month to unveil emerging technologies and strides taken so far in banking the unbanked.

With the signing of the Kenya Communications (Ammendment) Act, 2008, it is now possible to have a cheque mature in a day. The law, which now legalises digital signatures and e-mail messages, will see banks move cheques online to the clearing house.

Prior to the law, cheques had to be moved physically to the clearing house and then sent back to the paying banks for a transaction to be effected. This process took up to four working days meaning cheque owners had to wait for up to a week.

Service delivery

This and many more emerging banking technologies that boost service delivery will be discussed at the conference set for Nairobi between Febuary 17 to 19.

"What we are soon seeing is banks moving images of cheques to the clearing house instead of the hard copy. This will mean instant transaction between the paying bank and the clearing house," said John Mwangi, Managing Director, Aitec.

Aitec has organised the conference in conjunction with Safaricom, Paynet, Simba Technology, SBAtech, Technoloy Associates and Mtran Zact among others.

"Banks will also have opportunity to exhibit their latest technologies to the public during the conference. We will have speakers from South Africa, India, Tanzania, UK, UAE, USA and Sweden," said Mwangi.

"Technology presents great opportunities for the financial sector to extend reach, improve service and reduce costs," he said.

Dubbed Banking Technology 2009: Serving the customer through payment technologies, the conference will focus on customer experience in relation to all technology implementation and services, challenging suppliers and bankers to evaluate their systems.