Mishma Chakanyuka, Staff Writer 
STANDARD Chartered Bank (StanChart) says it has fully automated service provision capabilities available to its customers and other stakeholders, improving productivity and lowering operational costs in the process.
In a statement accompanying the bank’s financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2023, chief executive, Mubaiwa Mubayiwa said the bank is committed to digitisation and using partnerships to reinforce our competitive advantages.
“Despite the exit announcement in the local market, the bank’s digital strategy continues to provide effective support for our light physical presence business model as evidenced by our clients’ continued reliance on our efficient digital platforms.
“The bank continues to offer leading digital banking platforms providing services to our network powering global trade, commerce and financial services to companies around the world,” Mubayiwa said.
“Our world acclaimed self-service channel, S2B, has real-time capabilities and allows our corporate clients to access banking products with minimum disruptions and with amazing processing efficiency.”
Mubayiwa said the bank’s digital platforms utilisation remained high at 87 percent for Consumer, Private and Business Banking (CPBB) clients and 100 percent for Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking (CCIB) clients, while 97 percent of its financial transactions are digital.
The bank also enhanced its ATM coverage with 26 dual currency ATMs having been deployed across the country and providing convenience to clients to access cash and other services 24/7.
“Our up-time for our electronic platforms has been maintained above 97 percent,” Mubayiwa said.
Mubayiwa said the use of digital platforms has brought banking convenience to the bank’s clients who have responded positively to its digital strategy, with StanChart achieving a year-to-date average net promoter score of 65 percent, highlighting general satisfaction with the services offered digitally.
“Efforts are underway to improve this score by continuously seeking opportunities to automate the remaining manual processes and engaging our clients on areas in which they would like to see an improvement,” he said.
“Digital and mobile banking channels are simply effective tools that can extend the existing model far beyond the physical branch, strengthening existing relationships and attracting the next generation of customers.”
Regarding the bank’s balance sheet growth, Mubayiwa noted that it is growing despite the threats induced by the continuous local currency devaluation, with the growth being however muted by the bank losing market share on both deposits and assets.
In the outlook, significant investment has been made towards strengthening the control environment enabling StanChart to set firm foundations for easy navigation of the current global and domestic economic challenges.
