StanChart to roll out delayed mobile loans platform in second quarter

Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Chief Executive Officer Kariuki Ngari during the release of the 2023 Financial Results at their headquarters in Westlands, Nairobi on March 12, 2024. FILE PHOTO | LUCY WANJIRU | NMG  

By PATRICK ALUSHULA More by this Author

Standard Chartered Bank Kenya plans to roll out its long-delayed mobile lending service within the second quarter of this year.

The lender said it has resolved hitches encountered in the product's trial phase and bets on it to grow its mass retail business in the country.

StanChart first announced the product called SC Juza in mid-2021, following the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) approval and went live in March last year on a pilot basis. It had expected to pilot for about three months before full launch but hitches, including data privacy concerns, interfered with the timelines.

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Now StanChart Kenya CEO Kariuki Ngari says the product is ready for rollout, a move that will take on other existing products in the market such as Absa Kenya’s Timiza, KCB M-Pesa, and NCBA’s M-Shwari. This is in addition to the 51 CBK-approved digital credit providers.

“We are hopeful it is going to be big for the mass retail segment. We will be launching it any time from now, mostly in the second quarter,” said Mr Ngari.

This is going to make a big difference on small-ticket loans or even some of the bigger loans in the system. That is going to change the entire mass retail proposition to become another key driver of profitability.”

He explained that there were “issues that we needed to correct” at the pilot stage, including getting to know the capabilities of the system to receive customer requests for loans or resolving any complaints regarding the disbursement.

Mr Ngari said, without giving numbers, that the product performed “phenomenally well” at the pilot stage and that its launch will mark the “final leg of the digital lending journey” for StanChart Kenya.

The bank is heavy on affluent and corporate banking, which is mostly run by relationship managers.

It however wants to ride on technology to make inroads into mass retail banking, having made Sh10.5 billion digital strategy investments in the last four years.

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“We believe technology is going to make a big difference to ensure we can serve the mass retail digitally because this cuts costs and reduces the need for a wide branch network. Our continued investment in digital platforms is very critical for our mass retail,” said Mr Ngari.

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