#SeamlessAfrica: Fintech a distraction rather than a disruption in Kenya

Photo: KCB M-Pesa

“Kenya has already had disruption in the banking sector, we are more worried about regulations than fintech,” said Johnson Ondicho, head: online payments, KCB Bank Kenya at Seamless Payments conference.

Regulation

In the past, Kenyan banks had carte blanche on the interest rate they charged on loans and offered on savings. The law requires banks to pay depositors interest at 70% of the prevailing Central Bank Rate — which currently stands at 10%— meaning depositors are entitled to 7% interest per annum on their savings, and interest is capped at 14% on loans.

M-Pesa partnership

Ondicha said his bank has seen the value of mobile payment systems and tapping into the youth market. “There are more people in the world with mobile phones than have access to toilets.”

Since going into partnership with M-Pesa, KCB Bank’s customer base has grown from three-million to 14-million.

In addition, he said, statistics show that 28% of three- to four-year-olds in the UK are already using a tablet. “Our future customers are already here.”

What is digital transformation?

“Technology is just the enabler, digital transformation is about strategic thinking – from products to platforms and partnerships,” Ondicha said. Adding, that KCB Bank was not planning on reinventing the wheel by building its own platforms from scratch, but rather use what’s out there, and build on that.