This archive report was first published on 16 July 2019.
Published on July 16, 2019, Standard Chartered Bank is set to venture into the mobile loans segment in Kenya, a move that underscores the increasing popularity of the service.
The bank, which has traditionally focused on corporate and high net worth clients, will be entering a crowded micro-lending field dominated by peers such as KCB-M-Pesa, M-Shwari, and Equitel.
According to Standard Chartered Bank's CEO, Kariuki Ngari, the bank is working on launching a mobile loans service, which will be available soon.
"It is only a matter of time. It’s something we are working on and looking at to see the best way of doing it (launching mobile loans service). We will have it soon," Mr Ngari told the Business Daily.
The mobile loans market has seen significant growth, partly due to the suspension of unsecured personal loans by commercial banks following the September 2016 ceilings on interest rates.
A survey by Consumer Insight Africa found that mobile loans have overtaken friends and family as the largest source of loans in the past two years.
