Core-dependent architectures are no longer enough to sustain the scale, speed, and resilience required in today’s digital banking environment. Over the past decade, transaction volumes across mobile banking, internet platforms, agency networks, and third-party integrations have grown exponentially. Yet in many institutions, the architectural principle has remained unchanged: every meaningful…

For decades, the core banking system (CBS) has been regarded as the heart of a financial institution. It has been the main handler of accounts, transactions, and customer records, powering everything from teller operations to back-office reconciliation. But as customer behavior shifts, competition intensifies, and Omnichannel platforms are rising. That…

A system downtime, whether planned, brief, or carried out as intended, can have real consequences for a financial institution. For a user, it is still a disruption. Customers expect to access their accounts 24/7. It is a customer expectation vs business promise. And 99.9% uptime alone is not enough. Customers…

Digital banking channels are today not just extensions of the bank, Sacco or Microfinance bank. These channels are the bank. According to data published by the Statista Research Department on June 3, 2025, digital banking channels had already seen widespread adoption among Kenyan bank customers by 2022. Importantly, usage rates…

More and more customers today are turning to their smartphones for banking. None of them wants to be left out in the modern banking experience.   As of 2020, mobile banking was the main channel adopted in Kenya in all age groups. The utilization was higher among younger respondents aged…

While account reconciliation errors are rare, they do occur. In 2014, two Kenyan enterprises appeared before a court of law where the accused faced a tax assessment based on an analysis of their bank statements. The investigation revealed errors between reported sales and actual bank credits. This led to tax…

Customers are often attracted to financial institutions that don’t overlook what matters – customer experience. That is especially true when they are seeking loans from your institution. You may lose them faster than you can say ‘sorry’ if your loan approval process takes days or weeks instead of just hours…

Low loan uptake is a pressing issue for most financial institutions. When not many of your customers are taking loans, they are simply saying that you are making it too hard for them to get a loan, you are being too strict about who gets the money, and the process…

Sending demand letters is an effective way of getting borrowers to pay an overdue loan. As a financial institution, even with the best customers who promptly repay their loans, there can be times when they miss payments, default on a loan, violate loan terms, or ignore collection calls.   This…

Over the last several months, it seems risk-based pricing has been a hot topic in the Kenyan banking industry. In January 2024, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) announced a new bank lending rate of 15.20%, an increase from 14.63% in December 2023. This change in the lending narrative is…