Co-op Bank feted for Best Innovation in Retail Banking by the International Banker Magazine

Co-operative Bank of Kenya has been ranked as the top lender in the country in the Best Innovation in Retail Banking category by the International Banker in its 2025 Africa and Middle East Banking Awards.

In 2014, the bank bagged the same gong for demonstrating consistent commitment to providing inclusive retail banking services in Kenya.

“Under the leadership of Dr Gideon Muriuki, the bank has successfully pioneered a retail banking model that goes beyond investment in conventional bank-owned channels such as branches, ATMs, agencies and electronic banking. The bank has massively invested in over-the-counter banking services and payment card systems operated by co-operatives, to serve their over two million members. The bank’s support by way of affordable financing, capacity-building and critical technical support has enabled over four hundred co-operatives to offer front-office banking to over two million members,” International Banker Editor-in-Chief Simon Brown said at the time.

In addition, the bank was recognised for it huge investment in a payments switch that has enabled Kenya’s vibrant savings and credit co-operatives to have access to card payment services worldwide is a groundbreaking innovation for driving financial access for the majority.

Since then,  Co-op Bank has been on a high growth trajectory with an aim to provide a best-in-class customer experience.

Together with Intellect Global Consumer Banking (iGCB), the consumer banking arm of Intellect Design Arena Limited, it won the prestigious ‘The Asian Banker Global Middle East and Africa Awards 2023’  for delivering superior customer experience to the bank’s eight million+ customers.

This is after it became the first bank to introduce a fully AI and ML based customer onboarding journey in Kenya enabling customers to onboard within three minutes, in addition to enjoying omnichannel experience with customised offers on their mobile devices.