Best thing about Standard Chartered's Digital Bank ....Didier Drogba!
On Wednesday last week, the 15th day of 2018 with pomp and pageantry including the Regional CEO, Africa & the Middle East, the Minister of…
On Wednesday last week, the 15th day of 2018 with pomp and pageantry including the Regional CEO, Africa & the Middle East, the Minister of ICT and of course world renowned striker, Didier Drogba, Standard Chartered lanched its digital-only retail bank. The launch of its digital strategy marks a continuation of the strategy of Bill Winters, the bank’s global CEO, to put more funds into its African operations at a time when other banks such as Barclays are retreating from the continent. It is also consistent with commercial banks making half-hearted attempts to launch digital offerings, as proof that they are embracing the so-called fintech revolution. Whilst commercial banks in the west are advocating partnerships with fintech companies, on the continent our banks are following a “Stay in Your Lane” strategy. Continue!
When I heard the news on Wednesday I was hoping to see some of the innovation that other digital banks in different markets have implemented. Try using products like Monzo & Revolut and let me know if you don’t go back to your mobile banking app with bitterness in your heart.
But my excitement has been misplaced my people. I have re-read the press release several times and reviewed several articles about this new product but the only benefit that I see is — actually let me let Standard Chartered use their own mouth to tell you:
“In addition, for the first time, the client onboarding journey has been digitised and in under 15 minutes a client can open a new account through the app. What has also been introduced is the ability for clients to track and trace a request submitted, which is a first for Standard Chartered. This is something we are very proud of.” (emphasis mine)
— — -Jaydeep Gupta, Regional Head of Retail Banking, Africa & Middle East
This is the innovative feature that standard chartered chose to highlight in their press release after having “taken into consideration the feedback received by our clients at each stage of the design process and have incorporated innovative technology to allow them to execute all banking activities from a mobile device.”
In Nigeria this is called packaging or washing. The best definition that will not come out of Webster’s Dictionary is “aggressive marketing beyond substance”. I have no doubt the washing will continue and we this app will soon be on one of the Top 100 leading (revolutionary/disruptive/innovative) — pick your poison — lists by next year with enough marketing dollars behind it.
I haven’t seen this digital bank but it sounds like Standard Chartered have just launched what we call in these parts, a mobile banking application (or app if you are fintech), and packaged it as a digital bank. No wonder they needed some Drogba magic to sell this thing. The problem with packaging is that most times you can see through it under the glare of users. As of this post, only about 100–500 people have download the app from the google play store. I would forgive the low numbers because of the 5 start rating but then I noticed that 2 out of the 4 reviewers are Standard Chartered employees so maybe not the most objective.
For me the moral of the story is that Didier Drogba remains one of the best strikers — even post retirement he is still scoring goals (albeit financial ones). I am sure he is not their ambassador for altruistic reasons. But if anyone knows him please send this message:
“Didier I am not a Chelsea or Lyon fan but like you, Paylater is trying to increase financial inclusion on our continent. We are not rated 5-stars like Standard Chartered’s digital bank, I mean, mobile app; Paylater is only rated 4.2 but this rating comes from over 10,000 real reviewers 😃 and the app has been downloaded 1,000 times more than Standard Chartered’s. Can we work together? Si Cote d’Ivoire c’est pas possible on peut attacquer Nigeria ensemble. On vous attends!! “