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Business Reporter
THE future of banking lies in harnessing mobile technologies to enable low cost inclusive financial services across the country’s demographic segments, an official said.
Steward Bank chairman Mr Bernard Chidzero believes harnessing mobile technology remains a favourable option given the prevailing cash shortages.
He says a mobile technology banking model does not only represent the future of banking but is aligned to global trends.
“We believe that the future of banking is in harnessing mobile technologies to enable low cost inclusive financial services across all demographic segments,” said Mr Chidzero in a statement accompanying the bank’s financials for the year ended February 2017.
“Despite the economic headwinds and uncertainty that lies ahead, our approach will continue to be driven by relentless innovation.
The banking sector has continued to make profits despite the cash shortages in the economy, which have forced more depositors to embrace electronic transactions (plastic money) such as swiping, RTGS and mobile money platforms.
These have been complemented by several regulatory interventions such as the introduction of bond notes and cash withdrawal limits, which have significantly impacted on the way banks interact with their clients.
This has however not reduced the demand for cash as depositors continue to flood banking halls especially during pay days. Authorities blame cash shortages to externalisation of hard currency, money laundering and other illicit cash dealings.
Mr Chidzero stressed the need for banks to improve their investment in information technology (IT) infrastructure and staff skills so as to “entrench customer-centric culture and improve operating efficiencies in service delivery”.
He said Steward bank was accelerating deployment and marketing of e-solutions to its clients.
Steward Bank is a subsidiary of the country’s leading telecommunications company — Econet Wireless Zimbabwe.
The bank recently posted impressive performance results for the year ending February 28, 2017 with $8.4 million profit before tax compared to $6.2 million the previous year.
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