Standard Chartered’s $1.5b tech investment boosts digital awards

In less than two years after Standard Chartered Bank unveiled plans to invest $1.5 billion in technology to drive banking services across its footprints in three years, the project is now yielding positive results.

The bank had just been awarded the “Best Global Consumer Digital Bank” by Global Finance and this is the sixth year in a row, in a keenly contested recognition with 261 other banks.

The bank, at the Global Finance’s yearly World’s Best Digital Bank Awards, in London, also emerged Best Global Consumer Mobile Banking; Best Global Consumer Mobile Banking App; Best Global Information Security Initiatives; and Best Consumer Digital Bank Middle East and Africa.

Its Group Chief Executive Officer, Retail Banking, Karen Fawcett, said: “These wins represent welcome recognition of our standing in the industry and the progress we are making with our digital agenda.”

Earlier in the year, Global Finance recognised the financial institution as “Best Consumer Digital Bank” in 15 countries across its footprint.

According to the bank, the wins now reflect the bank’s commitment to deliver the latest in digital banking innovation to its clients across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

The bank also recently announced it will be rolling out a suite of cutting-edge fingerprint and voice biometric technologies, so clients can securely access their bank account balances, cards and investments using their unique fingerprint or voice as identifiers.

Already reaching more than five million clients now, this is the most extensive roll-out of fingerprint biometric technology by any international bank and a first in most markets.

In July, Standard Chartered also announced the roll out of chat and video banking in nine markets by the end of 2016 and, earlier this year, it launched a digital “bank on an iPad” in eight new markets.

The sales-and-service tool lets clients open an account in any location and makes banking services such as loan approvals and credit card issuance fast, simple and completely paperless.

It has also just rolled out a new mobile and online banking platform to eight markets in Africa, bringing cutting-edge digital channels to one million clients in the region.