Kampala, Uganda, June 8 2023 – Stanbic Bank Uganda Holdings Limited (Stanbic Bank Uganda), Uganda’s largest commercial bank by assets with over three decades of serving the market, has selected IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) Cloud Pak for Integration (CP4I) to modernize its business operations and enhance its customers’ experience. The move will assist the bank accelerate its digital transformation, maximize operational efficiency and offer secure and compliant banking-as-a-service platform.

Since the pandemic, Uganda has prioritized smart policies to solve societal challenges and spark economic growth guided by the national development plan – Uganda Vision 2040. According to the UNDP, Uganda has made noticeable progress in its digitization journey by strengthening its mobile network coverage to meet the needs of its growing digital-first population 4 million new mobile subscribers are expected to be live by 2025

By adopting IBM’s CP4I, Stanbic Bank Uganda can integrate its payment systems to support the functionalities of core banking apps and mobile baking operations. Additionally, the secure platform will allow the bank to onboard and manage new APIs internally and externally with faster speed-to-market time for innovative solutions such as FlexiPay, enhancing the banking experiences for customers at every touch point.

Additionally, this will also allow the bank to meet growing digital customer expectations by strengthening its ecosystem with fintechs, neo-banks, and telecom partners.

“Through working with IBM, Stanbic Bank Uganda can offer integrated and seamless banking experiences which enhances the user experience for our customers. In this process, agility, security and quality of integration were prioritised” says Emmanuel Serunjogi, Head of Partnerships and Ecosystems, Stanbic Bank Uganda. “Digital services are key to our growing e-customers who prefer transacting from the palm of their hands. By integrating secure APIs with our ecosystem partners, we are able to meet our customer’s needs and expectations”, concluded Serunjogi.

This hybrid cloud approach will further improve the bank’s competitive edge by being more flexible to evolving customer and business demands while compliant with strict industry regulations.

Commenting on the selection, Julia Carvalho, General Manager for IBM Africa Growth Markets, said: “We are pleased to be on a journey with Stanbic Bank Uganda to expedite their digital footprint and elevate the overall customer experience. By leveraging our expertise, we aim to empower the bank expand its reach, cater to wider audiences, and provide cutting-edge digital solutions that meet the evolving needs of customers. Our joint efforts will enable the bank to offer an unparalleled customer experience and drive the growth of the financial digital ecosystem in Uganda.”

The move by Stanbic Bank Uganda is in line with global trends as embracing end-to-end digitization to reshape operations and drive innovation was one of several top banking industry imperatives outlined in IBM Institute for Business Value’s 2022 Global Outlook for Banking and Financial Markets.

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About Stanbic Uganda Limited.

Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited (SUHL) is part of the Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest Bank measured by footprint and assets.  SUHL is comprised of 5 subsidiaries which include: Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited: - the leading commercial bank in the country, Stanbic Properties Limited: -  a real-estate company, SBG Securities Uganda Limited: - an investment and brokerage firm, Stanbic Business Incubator Limited: - an enterprise development institution and Fly Hub Uganda Limited: - a technologies and innovations company.

About IBM

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider, helping clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,800 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service. For more information, visit www.ibm.com.