Managing Director of Republic Bank Ghana, Farid Antar, has said the bank’s digital adaptability and transformation to doing business online is not yet complete, as digitalisation is a work in progress and an ever-evolving phenomenon.
According to him, digitisation is not an event or a project that can be executed in a day or a short period, but a continuous process over a long period of time. However, organisations need to be aware, proactive and ready to adapt to changes at any point in time.
“Republic Bank as an organisation believes that it has to prepare properly to deliver comprehensive workable solutions before going ahead to make promises, as the world of information has changed now and the youth have access to so much information and data.
“So, we started with the process of learning internally the whole chain management procedure and focused group engagements with junior staff, and we are currently reaching the outside staff because they are the ones delivering the solutions,” he said.
Speaking on the theme ‘Digitisation, artificial intelligence and the future of things: The impact and immense opportunities for Ghanaian businesses’, the MD reiterated that the bank is actively using digital tools to develop products which will assist customers in retooling, identifying and acquiring related technologies as an idea-pool that will translate into financial assets, packaging and tangible assets to impact society.
The MD made these remarks during the panel discussion session of the maiden digital conference organised by Republic Bank Ghana in partnership with the Business and Financial Times (RBGH-B&FT), held at Kempinski Hotel.
He added that the banking sector has come to the understanding it needs to partner data organisations to make good use of data – indicating that though the banks have a lot of data, other non-bank entities also have a lot of data and even use it better than the banks, which necessitates such partnerships to deliver better solutions.
Commenting on the technological infrastructure-readiness of the Ghanaian banks to harness the value of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Mr. Antar indicated that in terms of Ghana the bank is well-resourced enough, but in the context of the wider Africa continent there are a few challenges – but that will not limit the bank from looking at opportunities outside the country for its clients.
He indicated that in areas of payment systems and transborder transactions, the bank is working with some Pan-African payment systems to enable its clients access to such services on the continent; because, surely, the AfCFTA is a huge opportunity for the continent, and all stakeholders must participate and benefit.
