Paperless Account Opening in Kenya: The Co-operative Bank has scored another first in Kenya’s banking sector. The bank has become the first Kenyan lender to adopt an all paperless account opening.
This comes as the latest milestone in the bank’s digitization program, that has seen the lender rise to the top position as Kenya’s most digital bank.
The end-to-end digital account opening also comes as the latest effort by the bank to reduce contact between customers and staff as one way of fighting the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.
Co-op Bank named 2020 Bank of the Year in Kenya by Financial Times
Customers seeking to open bank accounts will no longer have to fill account-opening forms. They will only need to have their National ID. The other Know Your Customer (KYC) documents and details will be automatically generated by the bank system. The system will also confirm and validate the customer’s KRA PIN, take clear and high resolution photos, and enable electronic signatures.
Once a customer opens an account, the bank system will instantly send a text message to them, providing details of their account. This will instantly enable the customer to carry out banking transactions such as cash deposits and withdrawals.
Interestingly, this launch came as the bank was named as Kenya’s best bank by the prestigious Ft Banker 2020 Awards run by the Financial Times of London.
“As Co-operative Bank of Kenya implements its digitization strategy plans, it is enjoying gains from increased efficiency and enhanced digital offerings to its customers. Products such as E-credit and Mcoop cash are continually upgraded,” The Financial Times said on the award to Co-op Bank.
The award citation from the Financial Times further recognized the bank’s support for its customers during the Covid-19 economic slowdown period. “While the bank increased its assets by 10.5 per cent and net profits by 12.4 per cent in 2019, unsurprisingly Covid-19 is expected to take its toll on profitability this year. Despite the difficulties during the pandemic, the bank has strongly supported its customers and employees,” the Financial Times said in the citation.