StanChart Modernizes All Its ATMs to Accept Check Deposits
Companies
StanChart Modernizes All ATMs to Accept Check Deposits
Friday May 28, 2021
A branch of StanChart Bank in Nairobi. PHOTO | NMG
summary
- The Nairobi Stock Exchange-listed company has invested heavily in digitization, including video banking, a strategy that has helped it gain new customers and cut costs.
- Currently, it has 138 ATMs and 39 ATMs accept cash and check deposits.
Standard Chartered Bank Kenya #ticker: SCBK upgrades its automated teller machines (ABMs) for all to accept check deposits as lender deepens digital banking offerings.
The Nairobi Stock Exchange-listed company has invested heavily in digitization, including video banking, a strategy that has helped it gain new customers and cut costs.
Currently, it has 138 ATMs and 39 ATMs accept cash and check deposits.
“We’re reconfiguring our ATMs so they can take our checks… and we’re looking to automate our loans and credit cards,” StanChart CEO Kariuki Ngari said at the general meeting. the bank’s virtual annual held on Thursday.
The ATM upgrade will eliminate the need for customers to go to physical branches and fill out forms to deposit checks.
Automation of check processing comes at a time when use of the payment option has stagnated at volumes of 1.4 million and values of around 200 billion shillings per month, according to Bank data Central Kenya.
The value of a check transaction has been capped at Ksh 1 million since October 2009 to promote the use of the Real-Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS).
Checks are vulnerable to fraud and can take up to three days to clear while RTGS offers instant settlement of transactions.
StanChart’s move marks an increased capacity for ATMs that take on more functions that were previously only available in face-to-face interactions with bank staff.
The check deposit function will add to the cash dispensing and cash deposit capabilities of the machine.
Mr Ngari said that 90% of the bank’s transactions currently take place outside of traditional branches, with 67% of customers active on digital channels.
“Digital penetration for individuals and businesses stood at 70% and 94% respectively. [in the year ended December], compared to 60 and 85 percent in 2019, ”he said.
