Ecobank Kenya launches new digital banking platform targeting Africa’s youth

Ecobank Kenya has announced the launch of the Fingo Africa digital banking app targeting young people in Kenya and across Africa. The app was developed in collaboration between Fingo Africa, a Kenyan Fintech company, and Ecobank.

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Accessing financial services can be a major challenge for young people in Africa today. Opening a bank account can be a lengthy process taking anywhere from two days to two weeks in some countries. Moreover, it may require multiple face-to-face interactions and the submission of physical paper documents. Often, consumers also face a steep fee when sending money to friends, loved ones, or businesses, in addition to other charges just to keep their account active.

Jeremy Awori, CEO, of Ecobank Group, said: “We are proud to support the deployment of the Fingo App, a game-changer in digital finance in Africa that brings many young people into the mainstream financial sector and caters to their needs and preferences.

By simplifying access to finance, it overcomes the entrenched issues that have often acted as barriers to entry for young Africans. I want to thank our partner, Fingo, for driving such innovation that is aligned with one of our core missions to drive financial inclusion across the continent.”

The Fingo Africa app empowers Africa’s youth by enabling them to open a bank account via their mobile phone in less than four minutes, send money to other Fingo users for free and to M-Pesa users and pay bills via Paybills and Till numbers at subsidized rates. Users, therefore, get instantly rewarded whenever they use the App for their day-to-day transactions. Opening the Fingo digital account is free, safe, and easy. It attracts no minimum balance and no monthly fees.

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Kiiru Muhoya, CEO and Co-Founder, Fingo Africa, stated: “We are delighted that our Fingo Africa app will accelerate financial inclusion for Kenya’s youth and empower them just by using their mobile phones. We are looking forward to rolling out the app’s availability throughout Ecobank’s 33-country footprint, which will deliver on our vision of empowering Africa’s youth to create wealth in a way that is simple, fun and educative.”

The Fingo Africa app is currently available in Kenya, prior to a wider roll-out across Ecobank’s entire 33-country sub-Saharan African footprint.