National Bank Sponsors Afro Asian Fintech Festival

National Bank is one of the sponsors of the upcoming Afro Asia Fintech festival to be hosted by Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) in partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The Festival will take place in Nairobi, Kenya on July 15 – 16, 2019, aiming at connecting Africa and Asia to network, sharing ideas and knowledge, as well as strengthen the collaboration in financial technology in both continents.

“As a Bank, we are awake to the fact that the Banking industry continues to experience disruption caused by Fintech hence the need for continued innovation in order to offer customers a reliable and worthwhile experience. While traditionally, fintech was used for back-office functions by leveraging software to help banks manage customer databases, execute transactions and handle accounts, today it has ‘Do It Yourself’ modes where customers rely less on a brick and mortar bank for their banking needs, and instead have a multitude of digital channels at their disposal’’ said Mr. Wilfred Musau Managing Director & CEO National Bank.

The Bank has undertaken various key strategic approaches in the way they conduct business aimed at improving performance and meeting the changing needs of their customers. “We have put in place defined choices on the future shape of National Bank and are preparing adequately for the ongoing industry changes” added Mr. Musau.

National Bank is one of the sponsors of the upcoming inaugural Afro-Asia Fintech festival to be hosted by Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) in partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

The Festival, which will take place in Nairobi, Kenya on July 15 – 16, 2019, and is the first of its kind in the region, aims at connecting Africa and Asia to network, share ideas and knowledge, as well as explore sustainable financial services innovations that are emerging from Afro-Asia markets. The festival should also strengthen financial technology collaborations in both continents.

“As a Bank, we are awake to the fact that the Banking industry continues to experience disruption caused by Fintech hence the need for continued innovation in order to offer customers a reliable and worthwhile experience. While traditionally, Fintech was used for back-office functions by leveraging software to help banks manage customer databases, execute transactions and handle accounts, today it has ‘Do It Yourself’ modes where customers rely less on a brick and mortar bank for their banking needs, and instead have a multitude of digital channels at their disposal’’ said Mr. Wilfred Musau Managing Director & CEO National Bank.

To address the emerging trends in the banking industry, the Bank has undertaken various key strategic approaches in the way we conduct business aimed at improving performance and meeting the changing needs of our customers. “We have put in place defined choices on the future shape of National Bank and are preparing adequately for the ongoing industry changes” added Mr. Musau.

A key strategic theme for National Bank is strategic partnerships that allow us to develop innovative products that are accessible, easy to use and secure, making banking easy for everyone. One of the areas we have continued to excel is in Cashless Payment Solutions

Cashless Payment Solutions

Cashless Payments are economic propellers. They spur growth, boost financial inclusion, and provide operational efficiencies. National Bank has launched cashless payment solutions for county governments and institutions that support their business processes and cash management of their collection requirements. Recently we partnered with Nairobi County for collection of all the revenue. This required us to integrate with their systems to provide seamless cash collection from the county’s various revenue sources

We have also partnered with Visa to provide Visa on Mobile services to its customers – which will now make it easier for National Bank customers to make card-less purchases, pay bills and send or receive money from family and friends directly from their bank account both locally and internationally.

With Visa on Mobile, consumers can directly access all of the funds in their bank accounts to pay merchants (person-to-merchant or P2M) or individuals (person-to-person or P2P).

“Because the transaction runs through the Visa network, the consumers and merchants do not need to be customers of the same bank or mobile operator,” Mr. Musau said.

The bank has also implemented collections cash-lite system for various Institutions of Higher Learning which will cater for a cash-lite environment within the university’s premises and campuses and provide value add services like student registration and other school based customizations.

Targeting students and lecturers, the bank has effectively developed a smartcard solution that enables students to access various services such as entering/exiting campus premises (acts as an identification card), managing HELB wallets (tuition, accommodation, upkeep), access to library services, access to cafeteria services, gym services, exam/class attendance, paying school fees, accommodation, penalties.

“National Bank continues to embrace innovation while driving a digital bank agenda as a way of increasing efficiency in service delivery and driving financial inclusion. Our goal is to become the go-to digital bank and we are therefore excited over our unique solutions, which offer versatility to our customers,” he said.