StanChart delivers first mobile banking application
Standard Chartered (Stanchart) Bank, Ghana, has emerged as the first bank in the country to develop a mobile application (App) meant to enhance customer service through digitisation.
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The App Breeze, which was formally launched on Tuesday, comes at a time when efforts are being made by the central bank to encourage practices that will reduce physical cash and financial transactions in the country.
The App will allow customers, among other functions, quick and easy access to their accounts, the ability to transfer funds, pay bills and top up of mobile phone credits.
In what has been described as a revolutionary move by the bank, Breeze is also expected to transform the digital space in the country’s financial services industry.
The Executive Director, Consumer Banking, Standard Chartered Bank, Mr Andrew Okai, told a packed crowd of bank customers in Accra that; “The launch of Breeze is part of our bank’s global focus on digitisation”.
“Standard Chartered’s internal research has revealed that customers now wish for simpler and faster banking; be it at the branch, on phones or via mobile networks”, he said, adding that “The Breeze Mobile Banking app was born out of a desire to make banking simpler by creating an intuitive, plain-speaking smartphone interface.
Currently, the competition in the country’s banking sector has heightened with each player trying various means to outwit one another; coupled with the sophistication and increased expectation of the average Ghanaian banking customer which has influenced banks to adopt a new way of thinking; a thinking that is defined by how to drive a cohesive relationship with the customer.
Mr Okai said, “With Smartphone penetration at 18 per cent in Ghana and currently set to double within the next three years or less, we, at Standard Chartered, have taken the lead to extend our customers digital lifestyle into banking”.
According to him, digitisation in the banking sector will not only transform the banking services but the Ghanaian economy as a whole through the opening of job opportunities in related sectors including the telecommunication, payment services and electronic manufacturing.
“Breeze is available on Blackberry, Android and IOS. Customers need to go to their App Store and download the free app”, he explained.
The Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr Kweku Bedu-Addo, said the bank would ensure continuous investments to ensure that its digital platforms were well developed to deliver the best customer experience at all times.
Standard Chartered has been in Ghana since 1896 and through its consumer banking business offers services including Employee Banking, SME Banking, General Retail Banking and Premium Banking Services.
By Charles Benoni Okine/Daily Graphic/Ghana