Banking conference to focus on new technologies

A conference on banking technology begins in Nairobi on Tuesday morning as banks aggressively move into technology to improve their service delivery.

Dubbed the Banking and Payment Technologies East Africa, 2009, the conference, organised by Aitec Africa, will bring together banking industry players and technology service providers with the focus on recent innovation in banking and payment systems in the region.

“Banking Technology 2009 will therefore focus on the customer experience in relation to all technology implementation and services, challenging suppliers and bankers alike to evaluate their systems in the light of customer needs,” said Mr John Mwangi, the firm’s ICT managing director.

The three-day conference will also include exhibitions by banks and technology service providers on the various products that they offer.

“The key is to change our perspective on banking and payments. Where bankers see transactions, customers simply see payments,’ said Mr Mwangi.

Event sponsors include the Kenya Bankers Association and Kenya ICT Board.

The local banking scene has witnessed significant innovations over the last three years, resulting in new banking and payment methods, the latest being mobile banking services.

Only last week Standard Chartered Bank partnered with mobile service provider, Safaricom, to launch a mobile banking service, joining two other mobile cash transfer services, Safaricom’s M-Pesa and Zap of Zain, which was launched on Monday.

The industry has also seen an improvement in e-banking services as well as an increase in card usage for both cash withdrawals and payments.

These innovations are being seen as the new growth point within a sector that currently caters for about five million bankable Kenyans.

However, it has not been all smooth sailing as the industry has fallen victim to fraudsters taking advantage of the innovations. Credit cards for example have become a prime target.