Interview with Georgina Odhiambo, Chief Information Officer – Retail Banking | NCBA Bank, Kenya

Seamless Xtra’s Ellise Philips interviews Georgina Odhiambo, Chief Information Officer – Retail Banking, NCBA Bank, Kenya.

 

Georgina M. Odhiambo reflects on how technology has reshaped financial access in Kenya, drawing from her experience in retail banking and digital transformation. She highlights the impact of mobile banking and digital payments in empowering underserved communities and small businesses. She discusses key challenges in financial inclusion, including regulatory barriers and digital literacy, and explores how the industry is navigating these complexities. Georgina also emphasizes the role of fintech partnerships in expanding banking access. Looking ahead, she envisions a future driven by emerging technologies, data-driven banking, and customer-focused innovations, shaping the evolution of financial services in East Africa. 

 

Personal Insights on Financial Inclusion and the Kenyan Banking Landscape

1.What inspired your passion for financial inclusion in East Africa, and how have you seen the region evolve in this space over the years?

Thanks for allowing me to share my insights on the evolving banking landscape. I’ve been in the banking sector in the Kenyan market, specifically in technology, for over 15 years. I started from the ground up – handling hardware – and have worked my way up to being accountable for delivery. When the digital revolution began, it was clear that this would significantly impact the lives of the everyday customer.  

This has fuelled my passion for working on solutions and partnering with organizations that prioritize customer needs and seek to improve their financial experiences. A simple example is how customers access their money, pay bills, or facilitate transactions with ease.

It is very evident that East Africa is becoming a hub of innovative financial solutions that are transforming the way people save, borrow, and invest money. This began as a gradual move with the industry taking time to learn and improve its infrastructure. Today, we are seeing accelerated growth that has been propelled by the adoption of digital solutions. The focus has shifted from merely providing access to financial services—whether through traditional banks or retail outlets—to optimizing how these services are used, from bill payments to person-to-person transactions. Now, the emphasis is on extracting value through high-quality products and service delivery. This is where the availability of different channels and service lines is an important differentiator for customers. These dimensions come into perceptive while measuring how the region has evolved. 

 

2. From your perspective, what are the key challenges to achieving financial inclusion in rural and underserved areas in Kenya?

First, I want to applaud the progress made in expanding financial access across the country. A lot of work has gone into increasing access to financial services, with banks making efforts to establish branches and agent outlets in rural areas. However, scaling this further requires deeper mobile penetration to facilitate seamless transactions. We have made numerous efforts to improve financial literacy among the underserved, helping them match available products to their needs.

Another challenge is tailoring financial products to these communities. In many cases, required documentation can be difficult to obtain, limiting access. Additionally, there is a dependency on pastoral and agricultural income which fluctuates due to changes in weather patterns, slowing down the ability to maintain and access these services. Be that as it may, relevant products and innovations, as seen from an insurance perspective, are being provided to help deal with these uncertainties and hence promote financial access and usage of these services. 

 

3. How do you think digital tools like mobile wallets and mobile banking have transformed financial access in Kenya?

Being an active user, I see it has brought ease of access financial services. In addition to what is definitely visible are the following. 

• Increased financial inclusion: Mobile banking has increased access to financial services for the underbanked and underserved and are in need for financial access. 

• Digitalized daily tasks: As indicated, I am a user and I can say that having Mobile Banking has allowed me to perform daily tasks like paying bills, transferring money, and shopping online and provides the needed convenience on financial access. 

• Creating a financial identity: Mobile wallets have allowed people to create a financial identity and credit history. This, in turn, allows one to easily access digital loan for their financial access and needs. 

 

 4. What potential do you see in decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions for lending, borrowing, and investments in East Africa?

While still in its infancy and conceptualization, DeFi has the potential to reduce customer friction when lending and borrowing. Eliminating manual processes and paperwork in loan management (using Smart contracts to automate loan processing, repayment and collateral management) leads to faster transactions and reduced costs. Although this is very attractive to techno enthusiast and customers who want reduced friction, we still have some work to do in preparing the underlying infrastructure, rules, policies and awareness levels. 

 

5. How can tools like AI-powered lending help address creditworthiness issues in underserved population 

As we know, creditworthiness is a based on factors such as one’s character, capital adequacy, and repay capacity. However in underserved communities, these factors are not always easily accessible through traditional credit-scoring methods. 

This is where these tools can have an impact, they can analyse a wider range of data, including alternative data sources like mobile phone usage, utility bill payments, and social media activity. This enables lenders to assess creditworthiness for individuals with limited or no credit history to assess their character, capital adequacy and capacity to pay. 

I see the potential of these tools enhancing financial literacy where AI-powered chatbots can provide financial education and guidance to customers. This helps them make informed decisions, in turn providing data on their character to facilitate credit worthiness. 

 

6. Digital wallets have become a cornerstone of financial inclusion in Kenya. What advancements do you foresee in this technology?

Aside from their convenience, digital wallets have the potential to solve a cross-border banking problem that was traditionally disjointed and difficult to navigate. 

Recent advancements in fintech allow businesses to set up international accounts with multi-currency IBANs (International Bank Account Numbers) in their organization’s name. Virtual wallets enable same-day payments, especially in this region where we are taking advantage of PAPSS (Pan African Payments and Settlement System). This is great advancement. 

PAPSS addresses the historic challenge of making payments across African borders and adding value through a common African market infrastructure for all stakeholders. From governments, banks and payment providers to corporates, Small enterprises and individuals, digital wallets are tapping into this to facilitate payments. 

On a broader scale, smart ledger, or blockchain technology, will transform the way people and organisations handle their digital wallets. By offering a way to record, store and transfer alternative digital assets, the smart ledger will introduce a whole new world to digital wallets. Combining this with easily adaptable, API-accessible wallet management systems, will allow customers to experience a better-integrated digital payment model on one single platform. 

 

7. Embedded finance is a growing trend globally. How do you think it can benefit non-financial platforms in East Africa?

Embedded financial services aren’t new— consider airline credit cards, car rental insurance add-ons, or in-store payment plans for high-priced items. However, embedded finance is evolving beyond these traditional applications. There is an expansion to online transactions, with e-commerce retailers offering financial services directly on their websites, so customers don’t have to be redirected to a bank or financial provider. 

In East Africa, Kenya has been a pioneer of mobile banking and fintech, and embedded finance will equally fall in place due to its importance. As more companies realize the potential of embedding financial services into their platforms, we will see innovations in healthcare, agriculture, and e-commerce. Technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence will further enhance embedded finance solutions, making them more secure, efficient, and tailored to individual needs. 

With the penetration of mobile phones within the region I see the following as being benefits of embedded finance for non-financial platforms: 

Enhanced User Experience: A seamless and more intuitive interface that allows users to do more. 

New Revenue Streams: Non-financial businesses, such as e-commerce sites can generate additional revenue through embedded financial offerings like payments and lending. 

Increased Financial Inclusion: This interview would not be complete without mentioning financial inclusion. Embedded finance brings essential financial services to underserved communities in Kenya, where access to traditional banking is often limited.

 

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