Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited stated that the request by most of its customers to surprise them with banking products that will give them easy access and convenience is the major factor for their expansion into the digital banking service.
The Executive Director for Nigeria and West Africa, Olukorede Adenowo, said this during a press briefing alongside some of the management executives of the bank. He said that after receiving regulatory approval, the bank closed nine branches in Lagos and one in Abuja.
Adenowo said, “We listened to our customers, how they want to bank, what products and services are important to them and the delivery method that they want for those products and services.
“A growing number of our customers are telling us that they want products and services they can access and utilise anytime, anywhere, from the convenience of their own mobile devices.
“They want to be able to access investment opportunities 24/7 at their fingertips and equally connect with our customer care specialists who can support them whenever they have any queries.
“We have also witnessed a significant adoption of our digital services by customers as most of them continue to prioritise convenient banking over the need to visit any of physical locations to access our products and services.”
He said the banking landscape was very dynamic with rapidly changing needs. Most of its clients, he added, now transact digitally and no longer come into the banking halls.
He stated the change in demand pattern had significantly impacted some of its locations which make retaining some of these branches unsustainable.
The bank, he added, anticipated the changes and had invested in a world class digital bank which was launched in December 2019. While noting that it had operated in Nigeria since 1999 and remained committed to the country, he said, “Branches will continue to be one of the channels in serving our clients and supporting our brand.
However, these days, people are looking to do most of it not all their banking digitally- they don’t want to have queue in a bank branch. Whatever they can do at the branch, they should be able to do via mobile or online banking.”
