AFRICA customers utilising its mobile platform , EcoCash , it is clear to see that they are now placing trust in new technologies .
With up to 80 % of transactions undertaken through Steward Bank ’ s mobile banking app , Square , customers are now also able to utilise mobile wallets to store currency , further highlighting this shift towards digitally-led financial solutions .
“ Zimbabwe is a country of approximately 18mn people . About 6mn of them are hooked onto the EcoCash platform which is controlled by the Econet Group . We wanted to tap into those people who were using mobile wallets and provide them with a banking solution that would complete the loop in providing financial services ,” explains Steward Bank ’ s Chief Executive Officer , Dr . Lance Mambondiani .
“ Our idea is always to utilise data , information , and the synergies we have with Econet , and then provide financial services to those people who are hooked onto the mobile network platform .”
“ We are controlling up to a quarter of the market , which gives you an idea of where we are operating ,” he continues . “ We command quite a significant share of transactions on mobile platform , where we are processing up to 30mn transactions a month .”
“ If you look at what we were doing last year , we were doing approximately 4mn transactions a month . This highlights the growth that we are seeing in the business , which is extremely exponential . With transactions undertaken on mobile banking , we are the leading institution .”
WHERE FINTECH AND BANKING COLLIDE
Although Steward Bank has disrupted the traditional banking sector across Africa , Mambondiani is keen to stress that the business recognises itself not as a bank , but a fintech business with a banking license . By identifying the need for African nations to develop and adopt new financial capabilities , it sought to acquire a banking license back in 2013 when it was previously the sponsor bank for EcoCash .
“ We are owned by a telecom , and therefore have the capacity of reaching
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