94 pct of our transactions done digitally, says NMB Bank

NMB Bank has indicated that 94% of its transactions are done through various digital channels thanks to the bank’s investment in various digital technologies

This means that only six percent of the bank’s transactions are conducted inside the bank’s banking halls across the country.

The revelation was made by the NMB Bank Chief Executive Officer Ruth Zaipuna during an event to handover 45.5bn/- dividend to the Government that has a 31.8% stake in the bank.

Speaking during the event, Zaipuna said the bank has made a massive shift to new digital channels including agency banking, digital, mobile and internet banking among others.

She said technology presents an opportunity for the bank to do things in a cost-effective way by channeling resources towards areas of the business that need it.

“We continue to see good progress in deepening digital inclusion and adoption of digital channels, with 94% of all customer transactions Taking place on digital channels. We remain committed towards advancing our digital agenda and will continue to optimize investments in  technology and improve the way we serve our customers, the speed of delivery, and the quality of our solutions, to support to widen financial inclusion in Tanzania,” she said.

She said the bank has been investing to increase automation of its back-end systems to drive down transaction costs and to improve service quality and resilience that has reduced the bank’s operations cost/income consistently.

Zaipuna said the bank’s agency network has tremendously grown to 23, 679 across the country noting that the bank is committed to enhancing financial inclusion

“On the digital front, leveraging on our strong digital capabilities, we aim to bring about a significant shift in the way we do banking and further deepen our commitment towards financial inclusion. Innovation is therefore critical to our goal of bringing the power of banking to millions of people across Tanzania,” she said.

According to the NMB Bank Financial Report for 2022, customer deposits grew by 14% YoY to 7.6trn/- in 2022 compared to 6.66trn/- posted in 2021, with strong deposits growth comprising over 80% of our deposits base

The bank recorded 90 million transactions executed through the bank’s agency banking outlets as well as 70 million transactions executed through NMB Mkononi, the bank’s mobile banking platform.

In line with its commitment towards widening accessibility to financial services, the bank last year agency banking model through a revamped “NMB Pesa Wakala”. The enhanced agency banking model enables customers and agents to access financial services, including withdrawal and deposit services, through their mobile phone devices (agents do not necessarily need POS).

During the year, the total agents’ base recorded significant growth, nearly doubling to 19,870 agents as of end of 2022, up from 10,194 agents in 2021, reflecting good progress post launch of the revamped model.

NMB Bank recorded strong growth in total revenue which closed at 1.188trn/- in 2022, up 21% YoY, and surpassing the 1trn/- mark for the first time in the bank’s history.

 The bank’s Profit After Tax (PAT) rose to 429bn/- last year cementing its position as Tanzania’s most profitable bank.

Following the impressive performance, NMB Bank has paid 143.1bn/- to all its shareholders this year as compared to 96.7bn/- dividend that was paid the previous year.