Kenya Central Bank (CBK) governor Njuguna Ndung’u has said the government will fully support banks keen on coming up with innovations that can bolster their performance.
Speaking during the launch of solar powered low cost weather-proof Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Nairobi, the governor saying it was no longer a matter of choice for financial institutions to innovate, but a necessity in order to boost formal financial inclusion.
“Automation has enabled banks to provide convenience and efficiency to their customers which has contributed to the increase in the number of bank deposit accounts from 6.9 million in 2007 to more than 17.3 million currently,” he said.
Ndung’u appreciated the new technologies already rolled out by different banks in Kenya but urged the financial institutions to adopt more innovations that are convenient, efficient, cost cutting and effective.
“The various innovations that banks have rolled out recently are the main contributors to the increasing level of formal financial inclusion. Automation has enabled banks to provide convenience and efficiently to their customers,” he said.
Ndung’u also insisted on the fast-tracking of migration of automation technology to EMV chip technology in order to curb the growing cases of ATM fraud, with HumanIPO reporting in May that Kenyan banks lost US$17.5 million to fraud last year.
