International banking group Standard Chartered Bank has announced that its latest mobile and online banking platform will now be available in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In a statement issued by Standard Chartered, the company confirmed that the platform will enable customers to bank online using any device and from any location.

It also plans to launch fingerprint recognition technology to these markets in the latter half of the year.

The launch forms part of the company's three-year US$1.5-billion global technology investment strategy, announced in 2015.

Karen Fawcett, Standard Chartered's CEO for Retail Banking says "Consumers across the continent are increasingly affluent and tech-savvy and they want convenient access to their bank, wherever they happen to be. Africa is important to Standard Chartered and this launch is another demonstration of that."

Mobile financial services boom

A report released by The Boston Consulting Group in Johannesburg this week, titled African Consumer Sentiment 2016: The Promise of New Markets describes the rise in mobile financial services across the continent as the advent of a new market with enormous potential.

"Today, more than 50% of all Africans over the age of 15 own a mobile phone. For most of these consumers, mobile banking will be their first experience with financial services. By 2019, an estimated 250 million "unbanked" Africans will have mobile phones and a monthly income of at least $500—generating a projected $1.5 billion in revenues from mobile financial services." reads an excerpt from the report.

The research credits wider internet connectivity, which has reached 83% in some countries, for the growing number of business opportunities in e-commerce, online advertising, and mobile financial services in particular.

Jaydeep Gupta, Standard Chartered's regional head of Retail Banking for Africa and the Middle East, says "By early next year, we expect at least 35% of all client transactions to be done through online channels; significantly advancing the transformation of banking in Africa."