Kenya: Choice Microfinance Bank spearheads digital transformation through inventive strategies

The banking industry is experiencing significant transformation driven by the digital revolution and evolving customer demands in today’s dynamic landscape.

Choice Microfinance Bank has been rising to the challenge by offering innovative solutions to meet these evolving needs.

Choice Microfinance Bank’s strategic cornerstone lies in cultivating a sustainable competitive edge. This is accomplished through ongoing enhancement of resources and capabilities, coupled with swift adaptation to market dynamics.

The bank has realigned its business strategies to prioritize customer-centricity, elevate technology integration, and fortify capital and liquidity reserves.

Choice Microfinance Bank started as a diaspora story that later evolved to become a local story as well. The idea was to create an investment vehicle and an easier international remittance channel to send funds back home from diaspora to Kenya for investment and other financial opportunities.

Choice MFB was granted a community license on May 13, 2015 by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) under the Microfinance Act of 2006.

In 2021, a strategic investment transformed Choice. It is currently making adjustments towards new business lines to meet its objectives and expectations of customers, associates, and the shareholders.

An increasing demand for a digital banking experience from bank customers is transforming how the entire banking industry operates.

The bank is now heavily investing in technology to provide an array of digital banking services such as Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), mobile banking, internet banking, and digital lending.

Notably, Choice’s BaaS model will empower Fintech and non-Fintech companies to integrate financial products into their customer journeys seamlessly.  This includes offering services like deposits, payments, and lending.

The bank will manage all aspects of KYC data collection and verification, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards for account opening.

Accounts at Choice MFB earn interest and are insured by the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC), mirroring features of mobile banking products like those seen with M-Shwari.

However, delivering these products and services efficiently remains a challenge. Choice MFB aims to overcome this by implementing a multichannel banking strategy, which not only offers multiple channels but integrates them to provide a balanced mix of services, pricing, and offers.