Banking operations while at home is now possible in Nigeria thanks to SunTrust Bank.
Banking is gradually moving from physical branches to a technology-driven sector.
SunTrust Bank provides services entirely based on electronic channels, telephone, mobile and internet. It is therefore the first commercial bank that runs minimal branches.
One of the bank’s targets is to bring financial services to 40 million unbanked Nigerians since over 90 percent of financial services are being executed electronically.
As the first digital Bank in Nigeria and in West Africa, it will have the advantage of offering services cheaper than conventional banks.
African banks are more vulnerable to disruptions, unlike their international counterparts, because the newer alternatives are always preferable, owing to infrastructural challenges.
Many will prefer internet banking to avoid traffic for example, just as millions of Africans jumped from owning computers to buying smartphones.
There is no requirement that unbanked Africans will first get bank accounts before adopting digital banking as ecosystems converge, making it possible for people to buy and sell without a bank. African banks will have to improvise be part of the new banking sector.
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