The inaugural ‘Banking on the Future’ conference, hosted by EFT Corporation, brought together industry leaders, innovators, and stakeholders to imagine, discuss, and shape the future of digital banking at Victoria Falls from 13 to 15 May.
The landmark event brought together leaders from the continent’s top banks to discuss the latest digital banking technologies and the immense opportunities for growth and innovation across African markets.
Stephen Enderby, CEO of EFTCorp, says the company has a proud legacy of pioneering digital transformation within Africa’s banking sector. “Hosting the first ‘Banking on the Future’ conference was the natural next step in our commitment to unlocking the potential of digitising African banking. Uniting visionary leaders and innovative thinking paves the way for a more dynamic and inclusive financial landscape. The success of the event is especially encouraging to our mission of revolutionising banking on the continent with customer-centric solutions that make a difference to businesses and customers.”
The power-packed three-day conference focused on several crucial areas that are set to redefine the future of banking. Just some of these included the importance of actional strategy and collaboration, customer centricity, and the impact of AI.
Adrian Saville, Professor of Economics, Finance & Strategy at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), led the keynote address of the event on the new models, markets and mindsets required for successful business and banking in Africa, emphasising the role of leadership beyond just making things happen. Instead, leadership, coupled with multi-skilled teams and an actionable strategy, forms the golden thread for the banking of the future. Saville highlighted the need for businesses to understand market nuances, adopt the right models, and cultivate a mindset conducive to success. His discussion included six key ingredients for success, derived from data across 160 countries over 60 years, placing investment, education, healthcare, connectivity, and stable policies as foundational to economic growth.
The conference underscored the necessity of collaboration among the continent’s best and brightest organisations to build the future of banking and address the complex challenges still faced in key African markets. Discussions centred on how today’s shifting digital ecosystem demands fintech companies, traditional banks, and technology firms work together to create seamless, integrated solutions that benefit customers and the industry as a whole.
Jon Causier from Simon-Kucher debunked several myths surrounding customer centricity, chief among them being that a customer-centric approach does not equate to compromising on product quality or reducing prices. Instead, he stressed the importance of aligning products with customer needs and preferences. According to Causier, understanding customer segments and their value perceptions is crucial for building successful monetisation strategies alongside the nuances of price sensitivity, motivation, customer engagement and satisfaction.
Global conversations dominate about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) might reshape how businesses operate, compete, and grow in the digital age – and banking is no different. Riaan Singh and Mohil Subban from PWC provided critical insights into the transformational potential of AI in banking, pointing out the massive opportunities for enhancing customer interactions with financial institutions. Armed with AI’s capabilities of generating text, code, images, and data, Africa’s future banks will be more empowered to rapidly scale their operations, reduce costs, and create new business models. In addition, AI has the potential to revolutionise current payment processes, making them more efficient, secure, and customer-centric.
Carlin Wicomb, Chief Commercial Officer at EFTCorp, says ‘Banking on the Future’ has set a new and exciting benchmark for fostering dialogue and industry-wide collaboration. “The banking sector in Africa sits on the cusp of a new era of growth and development driven by technology, and we are proud to play a part in bringing this future forward. We thank all our attendees and sponsors for their support and participation as we look ahead to hosting future events that help drive innovation and transformation in the industry.”
