Standard Chartered Bank Kenya (StanChart) will now enter the mobile lending business after a nod from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
CBK approved the request from the lender to venture into the digital micro-lending space where it is in search of growth after being absent for long.
StanChart will most likely introduce the new financial services in the coming weeks as it looks to join this superfluous scene where indigenous banks led by NCBA, Equity Bank, KCB, and Co-op Bank have made billions of shillings in profits from fees and interest on shorter-term loan cycles that last from one month to a year.
To embrace digital banking, StanChart has been closing its physical outlets and stopping in-person registration. This move will see the lender join the lucrative mobile loan business in search of new customers and cement expansion without the need for brick-and-mortar branches.
The bank says it is cautiously optimistic of improved performance this year due to the move.
