Absa Bank Kenya plans to roll out 60 different technology projects as it targets to go branchless in the next decade.
The project is expected to cost the bank that dropped the Barclays brand a year ago at least Sh1.6 billion.
Speaking at the bank's one-year anniversary in the Kenyan market, Absa Kenya MD Jeremy Awori said delivering a differentiated customer experience remains at the core of the bank’s growth, transformation and returns strategy.
“In the next year, we will be rolling out over 60 different technology projects, all aimed at transforming our customer experience,'' Awori said.
These include automation of loan top-up process, a first-in-the-market which will enable customers to apply and get top-ups on their existing loans within 15 minutes.
''We will also be rolling out a fully-fledged online business banking platform in the coming weeks among other exciting innovations across our business segments,” Awori said.
The bank embarked on a brand transition four years ago that has already seen it shed the Barclays tag in Kenya and 12 other markets in Africa.
When the program is completed, the UK entity will hold a minority stake of 14.9 per cent from a controlling stake of 62 per cent it bought in 2005.
The process saw the lender incur a separation cost of Sh1.7 billion in Kenya. This saw its half-year profits drop to Sh1.2 billion, a 72 per cent drop compared to the corresponding half in 2019.
Awori said the Covid-19 pandemic has taught businesses globally to be prepared to live and operate in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment, and be agile to quickly adapt to changing realities.
Last year, the bank offered loan relief and restructures valued at over Sh62 billion which is equivalent to a third of the lender’s credit portfolio, covering over 59,000 accounts.
For SME customers, the bank says it offered specific capacity building programmes to equip them with the necessary skills to overcome the challenges presented by the pandemic.
''By proactively managing its business continuity processes, a 100 per cent of the bank’s branches remained open and fully operational while digital platforms had a 99.8 per cent uptime, even with numerous scheduled system upgrades,'' the lender said.
