Co-operative Bank of Kenya is among six African Banks tapping into IBM technologies to help advance financial inclusion across the continent.
The five others are EcoBank, Nedbank, Attijariwafa Bank, United Bank of Africa and Banco Ma.
The lenders have selected hybrid cloud and Al capabilities from IBM to unlock digital innovation as they continue to develop digital first solutions ultimately broadening access to financial services on the continent.
According to IBM, Co-op Bank turned to IBM to modernize their core banking platform and reach their customers on different channels including mobile and online while offering customized services driven by insights.
“For this, they required a technology that would also empower their employees who work across teams to simplify processes, optimize customer data, while also achieving goals like reducing infrastructure and maintenance costs,” states IBM.
With IBM Power and FlashStorage solutions, Co-op Bank now derive improved insights on customer data, faster query resolutions, quicker time-to-market on new services across channels – all backed by high available, scalable, cloud-and AI-ready technology.
Alan Peacock, general manager, IBM Cloud said enterprises, especially those in highly regulated industries like financial services, face unique challenges when it comes to balancing innovation and regulatory compliance.
“For decades, IBM has been fuelling the transformation of the financial services industry, bringing IBM’s trusted industry experience and leadership in security and data privacy to help banks modernize, transform operations and drive innovation,” he said.
According to IBM’s Covid-19 future of business study, more than 59 per cent of the organisations that participated said that the pandemic accelerated digital transformation, and more than 75 per cent of responding executives indicated they expect changed customer behaviour to continue after Covid-19.
As companies in the financial services sector are speeding up transformation, IBM hybrid cloud and AI solutions are supporting their drive to accelerate digitalisation in different parts of the continent.
“In the past year we have seen banks navigate changes brought on by a growing preference for digital and mobile solutions, increasing smartphone penetration and the demand for convenience, innovation, and simplicity from today’s modern consumer,” notes Angela Kyerematen-Jimoh, Regional, General Manager for IBM North, East and West Africa.