Standard Chartered Bank, in partnership with the Zambia Telecommunications Company (Zamtel), is rolling out mobile money services to provide its customers on the Zamtel network with mobile banking services, 24 hours a day, from anywhere in the world.
The initiative will provide customers with a number of services, including airtime purchases, utility bill payments, cash transfers, and chequebook and bank statement requests. In Zambia, as in many other African countries, mobile money services are taking a toll on traditional banking services, with banks now partnering with mobile service providers in a bid to survive the competition.
Standard Chartered Bank MD Mizinga Melu said mobile phone banking in Zambia was an exciting initiative.
“Mobile banking adoption rates continue to increase, and this demonstrates the desire to provide customer-centric banking services,” said Melu in a statement last week.
Zambia's central bank believes mobile banking will help overcome the longstanding challenge of reaching out to the unbanked population of the country.
Melu said the rollout will enable the bank to significantly enhance its service to customers on the Zamtel network.
Although mobile banking is supported at every level in Zambia, there is currently no legal framework to regulate the practice in the country. Hence, the central bank has said it will soon draft laws to govern mobile banking in the country in order to promote transparency and enhance accountability in the mobile banking sector.
Mobile banking in Zambia has attracted the poorer population, often residing in rural areas and who may not be able to afford a traditional bank account.
Various studies have shown that the uptake of mobile financial services among Zambians is still low.
But with the partnership between Standard Chartered Bank and Zamtel, uptake is expected to increase, as the bank has branches dotted across the country, while Zamtel's network covers most of Zambia.
The partnership is also expected to ignite stiff competition in the provision of mobile money services, as other operators and banks in the country are already providing mobile banking and mobile money services.
In June this year, Ecobank and mobile phone operator Airtel launched a wide range of mobile banking services across Africa, including person-to-person (P2P) and business-to-business (B2B) offerings, under the brand names 'Eobank Mobile' and 'Airtel Money'.
As in other parts of Africa, Zambians are using mobile financial services to buy goods, pay utility bills, and send and receive money.
The rise in the use of mobile money services has been fuelled by the increased accessibility of mobile phones, both in rural and urban areas, as operators try to capture customers in rural areas to increase their customer base and improve on their balance sheets.
Share
