Contrary to the notion that the move by the Nigerian banks to reduce their brick and mortar branches in pursuit of digital banking will result in the reduction of staff strength, Lamin Manjang, CEO at Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria said it will rather create new job opportunities.
According to Manjang, the branchless strategy being adopted by Nigerian lenders will consequently create multiple opportunities for reskilling, upskilling, and redeploying of employees into new roles.
As with any endeavour towards automation, the CEO acknowledged that curiosity with heightened caution is expected primarily around the impact on employment opportunities and business sustainability, but he, however, explained that “the reality is that with digitization comes immense opportunities for employees in any organisation to acquire new skills that position them for the future working environment which will be predominantly digital.”
Standard Chartered recently revealed that it was closing about 50 percent of its Nigerian branches to deepen its focus on digital banking, as compiled from the findings by Bloomberg.
The Nigerian unit of the London-listed lender plans to reduce its brick-and-mortar presence in Africa’s most population to 13 branches from the current location of about 25.
“In December 2021, as part of the digitization journey we embarked on a few years ago towards enhancing our processes, we closed down 10 of our branches in Lagos and Abuja and made significant investments towards optimizing our operating channels, products and service solutions to suit the demands of our clients. The decision, with the approval of the regulator, was also driven in response to changes in customer transaction behaviour,” Manjang said.
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According to the CEO, the bank has witnessed significant adoption of digital banking services by customers as most of them continue to prioritize convenient banking over the need to visit any of its physical locations to access its products and services.
In addition to Standard Chartered’s customer-centric digital strategy, the CEO said the bank prides itself in the implementation of a forward-looking People Strategy where it proactively plans its workforce needs to fulfil its business strategy.
“At Standard Chartered, we are a listening and customer-centric financial institution. We are focused on understanding how our customers want to transact; how we can improve on the products and services that are important to them while ensuring a smooth delivery method to these solutions,” Manjang said.
A growing number of the bank’s customers are telling it that they want financial solutions that they can access and utilize anytime and anywhere from the convenience of their own mobile devices, according to the CEO.
“They want to be able to access investment opportunities 24/7 on the go at their fingertips and equally connect with our customer care specialists who can support them whenever they have any queries. Continuous optimization of our digital banking solutions enables us to meet these financial needs.”
On the benefit of digitization in Nigeria’s financial services industry, the CEO said it fosters efficiency. For example, he said it broadens and extends a bank’s ability to reach existing and new customers, previously unreachable due to the limitations of the physical brick and mortar branches.
“Digitisations simplify manual processes through automation; reduces delays encountered by end-users; creates new job opportunities and thereby creating multiple opportunities for reskilling, upskilling, and redeploying of employees into new roles,” he said, adding that digitization is not just for the advantage of our customers and employees only, it provides an opportunity to positively impact the communities too.
From a few years ago when ‘banking’ in Nigeria only conjured images of long queues, tally numbers, paperwork, pressure to process transactions within working hours, awaiting physical approvals on transactions Manjang says, through the recent impact of technology and financial literacy, the word ‘Bank’ now connotes different reactions to many people.
“Fast forward to more recent times with the impact of technology and financial literacy, the word ‘Bank’ connotes different reactions to many people. Personalized financial growth, opportunities for business collaborations, access to foreign investment opportunities, transferable generational wealth and financial security all on one’s terms are some of the prevailing thoughts for customers.”
Customers now have access to information around the clock at the touch of their fingers and as such can determine what financial needs they want their financial partners to meet, he said, adding that “the union of innovation, digital literacy and collaborative opportunities to provide financial services, gives us the solution that is digital banking.”
Digital banking in Nigeria has evolved significantly over the last five years to become an important part of our daily activities, driving e-commerce, wealth creation, payment solutions, financial empowerment, and improved standards of living, he explained.
Through digital banking, innovation and technology that is positioning itself as the future of payments and wealth creation, the CEO said there are several opportunities for financial institutions to tackle some of Nigeria’s biggest challenges around job creation, economic empowerment and financial inclusion for youths while being a catalyst for efficiency within the sector.
The importance of quick access to finance for example cannot be undervalued and with financial exclusion still being a barrier in some parts of Nigeria – digital innovation in banking can influence positive transformation within the sector, he said.
Recently the Bank launched its agency banking service as part of its digital banking proposition to clients across Lagos. This builds on the launch of its world-class digital bank in December 2019. SC Mobile, the Bank’s mobile app has practically put the Bank in the palms of the client as clients can open new accounts end to end, transfer funds, effect static data changes, get cards delivered to their doorstep, invest in real-time and among others.
“We equally launched our Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) service, *977# which caters to clients who may not have access to internet service and wish to transact. These are just some of the initiatives we continue to drive in support of CBN’s financial inclusion agenda to empower Nigerians,” the CEO said.
According to Manjang, Standard Chartered has taken a ‘Capturing the Digital Initiative’ approach that ensures that over 70 percent of the most common service requests can be handled by the bank’s digital bank with distinct benefits such as a zero charge on all interbank transactions, zero charges on SMS notifications and free delivery of cards to customers regardless of location.
“We remain forward-thinking on how best we can continue to simplify and improve our customers experience with the Bank.”
Analysis of the NIBBS 2020 report shows that customers between 25 and 34 years old carried out 36 percent of all interbank instant payments. With an estimated 60 percent of the Nigerian population setting the tone for adopting innovative technology, it is essential to welcome the latter while also firmly holding the former by striking a balance in responding to customer-specific needs, Standard Chartered bank said.
“Digital banking is no longer a series of financial transactions and services. It is an innovative solution towards providing empowerment and creating sustainable prosperity for our clients, colleagues and the community. This is the future and we are all encouraged to adopt and maximize these changes for the benefit of all.”
This year, Manjang said Standard Chartered will continue to strategically prepare its employees for the future working environment which will be primarily digital.
“We continue to upskill, equip, and redeploy employees especially those impacted by the closure of the branches in Lagos and Abuja to ensure career growth and stability for our employees this year.”
