(Corrects paragraph 1 to show it is customers exclusively on
banking platform)
NAIROBI, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Kenya's Absa Bank ABSA.NR has
signed almost 5 million customers on its virtual banking
platform, which it sees as a major driver for future growth,
chief executive Jeremy Awori said on Wednesday.
When the bank first launched its virtual savings and loan
app known as "Timiza" -- Kiswahili for "Achieve" -- in March
2018, it attracted 300,000 customers. By the end of the year it
had 3 million users, with lending standing at 10 billion Kenyan
shillings ($98.91 million). "We have seen our app grow in leaps and bounds. We are now
roughly under 5 million Timiza customers, and we really are
looking forward to growing that number in the future," Awori
told a news conference.
The bank, formerly known as Barclays Kenya , also has a
separate mobile-based banking service to process normal customer
transactions like deposits and withdrawals.
Absa Kenya, which is part of South Africa's Absa Group
ABGJ.J , posted a pretax profit of 8.18 billion shillings in
the first nine months of 2019, compared with 7.72 billion
shillings in year-earlier period.
Kenyan lenders have in recent years turned to technology as
they try to counter competition from mobile phone-based
financial services such as from telecoms operator Safaricom's
SCOM.NR M-Pesa platform, which had 23.6 million users as of
last September.
Absa's virtual banking app's competitors include those run
by KCB Group's KCB.NR , NCBA Group NIC.NR and Equity Group
EQTY.NR .
Pressure to use mobile banking services increased further
when the government imposed a cap on commercial lending rates in
2016 that ate into bank profit margins forcing banks to search
for new ways to grow their businesses. The cap was scrapped at
the end of last year.
Absa Group operates in 12 countries in Africa where it plans
further expansion, including to Nigeria where it has a
representative office.
"Clearly any ambition to be a pan-African bank cannot be
realised without a clear strategy for Nigeria," said Absa Group
chief executive officer Daniel Mminele, who added it was too
early to say when or what form the entry would take.
($1 = 101.1000 Kenyan shillings)