Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) chief executive officer, Jeremy Ngunze, has hinted on the possibility to have insurance firms on the mobile banking platform, M-Shwari.
M-Shwari which was launched in collaboration with the CBA and telecoms firm Safaricom allows users to save, earn interest and borrow 30 day loans using their mobile phones.
Since the launch of M-Shwari more than 1 billion shillings in deposits have been moved using this service.
“Mshwari is driven by customer requirements, customer feedback has been very positive. We are likely to see wider access to lifestyle benefits such as ticket purchases off mobile banking platforms,” Ngunze said.
“I see commercial banks building on the financial inclusion agenda and beginning to drive towards financial empowerment. We are likely to see banks move from offering basic services to more comprehensive services such as insurance on the mobile platform,” he told ITWeb Africa.
This is not entirely impossible seeing that insurance companies such as UAP Insurance are already accepting mobile money deposits as premiums.
Ngunze says that he estimates about 30 banks are using mobile banking in various ways and reaching over 5 million people in Kenya alone. He lauded the mobile banking platforms as ways to get to the unbanked found mostly in rural areas.
“Future of mobile payments is really bright because of the convenience factor. All things seem to be converging on mobile phone,” he added.
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