Botswana is on a fast track to fully adopting digital banking and contact less payments, thanks largely to the partnership between the country’s oldest bank – Standard Chartered Bank Botswana (Stanchart) and the global banking solution provider – VISA.
The digital readiness of Botswana’s banking consumers is mirrored mainly on STANCHART-VISA’s partnership dubbed ‘Safe is Smart’.
The partnership has seen consumers across the world, including in Botswana, ditching cash and in-person shopping in favour of online spending.
As both the global and Botswana economy emerges from what has been touted as the deepest recession since the Great Depression, analysts predict the uptake of digital payments will accelerate with the economic rebound.
As a result, STANCHART continues to implement its digitisation strategy which has seen clients open a bank account end-to-end digitally without the need to visit a physical branch – a first in the Botswana market.
On the strength of ‘Safe is Smart’, STANCHART recently received the Best Consumer Digital Bank in Botswana award from the Global Finance.
Through the ‘Safe is Smart’ drive, STANCHART continues to demonstrate its ability as a local bank to attract and service customers digitally, increase its digital adoption and provide its clients with a wide suite of digital offerings.
The bank, through its mobile Application or SC App has ensured that gone are the days where its clients walk into a branch to open an account or request for a service. The introduction of the SC Mobile App means that all these are now done digitally from the comfort of client’s home or workplace.
Key amongst the SC Mobile App features is the ability that allows clients to command services such as card management, including ordering new cards, activating cards, changing PINs and blocking lost cards. The platform also allows for self-service updating of personal data using the client’s smartphone to photograph and upload evidence of the updates to the data.
Tap to pay….
Sanitation has become a huge priority for business establishments and will likely be a key factor in bolstering customer confidence as economies return to in-person shopping. Through the ‘Tap and Go’ debit and credit cards, STANCHART’s contactless payment methods will help promote a more sanitary shopping experience by minimising contact between customers and cashiers. In these tough times, services such as STANCHART’s ‘Tap and Go’ cards will also help maintain retail sector employee’s morale thus high retention which will ensure service continuity at the macro economic level.
Banking gurus are also certain that for services such as STANCHART’s contact less payment, expedience and convenience are other key benefits that cannot be ignored. This is mainly because contactless payment solutions can drastically expedite the checkout process, which is both more convenient for customers and enterprises.
Standard Chartered Bank Botswana’s Head of Retail Banking – Bino Rasedisa is in agreement and adds that moving customers quickly through the stores and preventing long lines and crowds are two important ways that businesses can safely succeed as the local economy begins to reopen.
“Because the ‘Tap and Go’ cards are mostly automated process, there is less room for human error when completing and logging a transaction. This also means less time is spent by our clients at payments points in shops”, says Rasedisa.
The Rewards…
Going to get a coffee or snack from your favourite local restaurant? Or perhaps you are intending to travel to your favourate destination across the country? Your best bet will be to simply ‘Tap and Pay’ for whatever service you are getting. With STANCHART’s 360 rewards program, it does not end there. The 360 rewards are available to all STANCHART customers whenever they make a transaction with their VISA card online or at the shops by accumulating points. The points accrued by clients on purchase transactions are then credited to their loyalty account and can be redeemed for exclusive holidays, shopping vouchers, free flights and more amazing gifts as per the client’s taste.
The road ahead….
To date, Standard Chartered Bank Botswana remain the only truly digital retail bank in the country that continues to pioneer the digital evolution by offering digital integration across its products. The bank’s digital drive is in line with Botswana’s digital transformation strategy which seeks to create an inclusive economy by the year 2036. With the outbreak of Covid-19, It is becoming critical for businesses to ensure financial inclusion which is what the STANCHART-VISA’s ‘Safe is Smart’ ‘partnership is all about. By bringing additional products and services through STANCHART’s digital platforms, the bank is keeping its thumb not only on the local digital pulse but also on that of the global village where it is also a big player. The bank’s partnership with another global player – VISA will ensure that its Botswana clients and by extension their clients in the global village are connected through contactless means. Most importantly, STANCHART strongly believe that the road ahead needs to be marked by greater safety, security, speed and convenience.
