KCB Bank Kenya Limited: Serving the Underbanked and Growing

KCB Bank Kenya Limited has made significant strides in serving the underbanked population in Kenya. The bank has introduced innovative products and services that cater to the needs of this segment.

One such initiative is the KCB M-Pesa account, which allows customers to access basic banking services without the need for a traditional bank account. This has been a game-changer for many Kenyans who were previously excluded from the formal banking system.

The bank's focus on the underbanked has contributed to its impressive growth in recent years. In 2020, KCB Bank Kenya Limited reported a 12% increase in customer numbers, with a significant portion of this growth coming from the underbanked segment.

KCB Bank Kenya Limited has made significant strides in its business operations, particularly in future-proofing its retail banking system. In 2012, the bank embarked on a major strategic transformation project to replace its entire retail banking system.

The bank's objective was to reduce time-to-market, increase system performance, and improve overall fault tolerance. To achieve this, KCB undertook a rigorous tender process to find a partner that could support its rapid expansion plans.

Compass Plus Technologies was identified as a leader in payments technology and was chosen to deliver innovative products and services to KCB's customers.

KCB Bank Kenya Limited is a 100 percent subsidiary of KCB Group.

The group's stock is listed on multiple exchanges, including the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE), the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE), and the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE).

Shares of KCB Group are listed under the symbol (KCB) on the Nairobi Stock Exchange.

At the helm of the KCB Group are two key leaders. The chairman of the board of directors is FCS Dr. Joseph Kinyua. He plays a crucial role in guiding the group's strategic direction.

The chief executive officer and managing director of the group is Paul Russo. He is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the group and ensuring its overall success.

Serving the underbanked is crucial for businesses like KCB, which has made significant strides in this area. In 2013, over 25.3% of adults in Kenya were unable to access everyday financial services.

KCB expanded its network of ATMs and POS terminals by 23% to 450 and an impressive 1000% to 31,000 respectively. This massive expansion allowed the bank to tap into a large unbanked and underbanked population in rural areas.

By providing a wider range of banking services, KCB has given customers an alternative way to bank. This has been particularly beneficial for those living in rural areas where access to traditional banking services may be limited.

The growth of KCB's ATM and POS networks has led to a significant decrease in the number of unbanked adults in Kenya, dropping from 25.3% in 2013 to 11.6%.

Customers at Kenya's largest bank, KCB Group, overdrew accounts by $7.7 million due to technical glitches during a critical data migration.

The glitches allowed customers to withdraw sums above their bank balances from October 11 to 31.

The bank has restricted the accounts of customers who overdrew their accounts and has notified them.

The bank attempted to integrate its cloud databases after migrating its databases from on-premise to a colocation centre, leading to a synchronization error.

Customers with KCB-M-Pesa target savings accounts were the worst hit, as people could withdraw up to three times the saved amount.

The technical glitches lasted over three weeks, highlighting the bank's struggles to modernise its IT infrastructure.

The bank has since held crisis meetings to address the issue and explore recovering the lost funds.

KCB Bank Kenya Limited has been at the forefront of driving innovation in the Kenyan card market. In 2014, they became one of the first financial institutions in Kenya to issue contactless Mastercard and Visa cards and enable contactless payment acceptance.

By achieving certification with Mastercard PayPass contactless cards within just four weeks, KCB made history by becoming only the second bank in the country to achieve this status.

Their commitment to innovation extends to offering UnionPay and JCB cards to connect to KBA, a local payment network, making them one of the first financial institutions in Kenya to do so.

The new system implemented by KCB has enabled them to detect and prevent over 80% more cases of fraudulent activity than their previous vendor. This gives customers reassurance that their money and data is safe.

KCB Bank Kenya Limited has been expanding its footprint across East Africa, with over 19.5 million transactions processed per month.

The bank has successfully managed its network of 430 ATMs and 31,700 POS terminals. This impressive growth is a result of the major transformation project completed in 2013.

KCB continues to introduce new products and services to deliver better experiences to its customers, constantly developing its long-term strategy to expand its retail banking business.

Future-proofing its business is crucial for any expanding company, and KCB's story is a great example of this. In 2012, the bank embarked on a major strategic transformation project to overhaul its entire retail banking system.

KCB's objective was to replace three separate solutions from different vendors and launch an in-house processing centre, running on one fully integrated platform. This would allow the bank to manage its payments business across the region, reducing time-to-market and increasing system performance.

The bank undertook a rigorous tender process to find a partner that could support its rapid expansion plans. Compass Plus Technologies was identified as a leader in payments technology, best suited to deliver innovative products and services at a faster pace.

The new in-house processing centre went live the following year, consolidating the three separate systems in less than 12 months. This complex project involved migrating the banking group's entire 4.9 million card base to the new platform, as well as its network of over 350 ATMs and 3,000 POS terminals.

Since going live, the partnership has continued to thrive, with various additional milestones achieved as part of KCB's long-term strategy to develop its retail banking business.

In East Africa, KCB has made significant strides in expanding its presence. KCB processes over 19.5 million transactions per month.

The bank's network is impressive, with 430 ATMs and 31,700 POS terminals across the region. KCB's efforts to grow its retail banking business are ongoing.

KCB has a long-term strategy to expand its business, and it's working with Compass Plus Technologies to integrate with its acquired banks in Rwanda. This will help develop the acquired bank's fraud management and claims management services.