Some of the biggest banks on the continent to digitize and utilize the latest technology. According to McKinsey, cash is still used in more than 90% of all transactions in Africa. One of the key reasons for this is access to smartphones.


Sim Tshabalala, the CEO of South Africa’s largest bank Standard Bank Group speaks about this issue and how it is changing, “Progress is continuing with more internet connectivity, more fibre being rolled out by the cell phone companies on the African continent. The consequence of that is that the African continent is in a position to leapfrog. And banks operating on the continent are using that capability and that connectivity to meet the needs of their clients, to pay, to move money around, to invest, and indeed to create wealth and pass it on to future generations. So, to put it differently, now is a time that is most exciting for the banking industry.”


African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is opening new opportunities for businesses and individuals across the continent. Tshabalala explains, “The African Continental Free Trade Area is going to be a game changer for our continent. Firstly, it’s going to reduce poverty. It’s going to increase incomes, it’s going to increase the ability of people, ideas, knowledge, and capital to move between countries, and therefore it’s going to increase economic activity.”




https://f2m2news.com.ng/2023/09/banking-and-digitization-an-opportunity-for-economic-growth-in-africa/