Stanbic IBTC reiterates its position to further drive sustainable digital finance

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, a subsidiary of Standard Bank Group, has reiterated its commitment to promote and invest in disruptive innovative financial technologies that foster sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion in Nigeria.

This commitment was reiterated at the recent 5th annual Nigerian Fintech Week Conference, which had several stakeholders from the financial ecosystem discuss “Sustainability and Ecosystem Building”. The theme focused on leveraging partnerships between traditional financial service providers and the fintech industry; to bridge the existing gap and promote financial inclusion in Nigeria.

The Bank said it believed that digital innovation is a key driver to the nation’s economic growth,  and that purpose served as one of its rationales for leveraging digital innovative banking products and solutions that resolve and fulfill Nigerian banking challenges and needs.

While delivering his keynote address on the topic “Emerging Technology and Future of Digital Finance” Wole Adeniyi, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC stated that financial technology has significantly disrupted the world’s financial ecosystem and driven growth and competitiveness in the payment sector. He added that the economic growth has enabled financial systems to become more customer-centric and given them the platform to compete globally. 

“The Nigerian Fintech industry is constantly evolving Nigeria’s business ecosystem as financial transactions are increasingly becoming digital and contactless. Digital innovations have long impacted the Nigerian financial sector and have become a driving force of economic growth for a while now, that brought in the emergence of banking technologies such as ATMs, practical applications of asset pricing models, credit-scoring and other consumer lending technologies.

Financial technology continues to evolve to meet global demands, and as such the way we do business and interact with customers and community is changing and will continue to change based on adoptions of new technologies.” he said.

Wole further stated that today’s market has seen fintechs and other financial institutions work together to utilise emerging technologies that will change Nigeria’s financial landscape for the better, for instance, robotic process automation which is automating jobs for quicker and more efficient delivery of financial solutions to improve customer’s experience.

He highlighted that these new developments have not only impacted customers but also employees who also seek new roles that are being created by digital capabilities.

“To think that we can do more with technological evolution in the financial sector is even more exciting and I am glad that the Nigeria fintech week has created an opportunity to further accelerate this growth. I hope this conference further promotes and broadens our understanding of the impact and direction of technology on our financial ecosystem, as well as provide a clear insight on how collaboration with fintech startups and organizations will facilitate financial inclusion and drive economic growth.” He added.

Wole’s presentation ended with a brief virtual appearance of Stanbic IBTC’s Artificial Intelligent robot called “Pepper” which further showcased how Stanbic IBTC intends to keep leveraging Artificial Intelligence, blockchain technology and machine learnings to transform and fulfill customer and business needs.