Kampala-based Stanbic Bank Uganda and the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have announced a partnership with the goal of reducing the cost of remittances to Uganda from other countries. In particular, the aim is to grow the service while halving the fees to less than 3 percent of the amount transferred.
To do this, IFAD is supporting the development of Stanbic Bank Uganda’s FlexiPay Wallet, including by connecting it to more third-party payment services. FlexiPay, which targets first-time users of financial services, can be accessed from smartphones – via Android and Apple apps – or from feature phones. It allows users to store money and send it to peers, merchants, utility providers and schools.
IFAD also is providing assistance to Stanbic Bank Uganda’s affiliate, Stanbic Business Incubator, which supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with training, access to markets and access to financial services. In particular, the incubator will provide “digital and financial literacy trainings for savings and credit cooperative societies (SACCOs), aimed at empowering and fostering rural people to adopt the FlexiPay wallet as a solution to receive remittances.”
The partnership between IFAD and Stanbic Bank Uganda is a part of the Platform for Remittances, Investments and Migrants’ Entrepreneurship in Africa (PRIME Africa), an initiative of the UN’s Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development (GFRID). The goal of PRIME Africa is to develop “partnerships and products that enable cheaper, faster and safer remittance transfers” in seven countries.
Stanbic Bank Uganda is a commercial bank that offers services such as loans, deposits and insurance via the internet and 15 branches. As of 2022, it reported total assets of UGX 9 trillion (USD 2.4 billion). The company was established when the South Africa-based Standard Bank Group acquired and rebranded Grindlays Bank in 1991.
Stanbic Bank Uganda and Stanbic Business Incubator are subsidiaries of Stanbic Uganda Holdings. For 2022, this parent company reported return on average equity of 22 percent and return on average assets of 4.0 percent. Stanbic Uganda Holdings is controlled by South Arica-based Standard Bank Group. For 2022, Standard Bank Group reported return on equity of 16 percent, ending the year with total assets of ZAR 2.4 trillion (USD 127 billion).
IFAD was founded in 1977 and is based in Italy. The organization seeks to “reduce poverty, increase food security and improve nutrition,” particularly within rural communities. In 2022, it approved USD 882 million in loans and grants. As of December 2022, it has active investments of USD 8.0 billion in 90 countries in Africa, the Americas and Eurasia.
By James Stevenson, Research Associate
Additional Resources
IFAD press release
https://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/-/ifad-stanbic-bank-enter-partnership-to-cut-money-transfer-costs-to-uganda-in-half
Stanbic Bank Uganda homepage
https://www.stanbicbank.co.ug/
Stanbic Bank Uganda Annual Report, 2022
https://www.stanbicbank.co.ug/static_file/Uganda/Downloadable%20files/Annual%20reports/SBU%20FINANCIALS%202022.pdf
FlexiPay app on Google Play Store
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.eclectics.sbu.flexipay
FlexiPay app on Apple App Store
https://apps.apple.com/ug/app/flexipay-uganda/id1541993884
Stanbic Uganda Holdings homepage
https://www.stanbic.co.ug/
Stanbic Uganda Holdings Annual Report, 2022
https://www.stanbic.co.ug/static_file/Uganda%20Holdings/Downloadable%20files/Annual%20Report
Standard Bank Group homepage
https://www.standardbank.com/
Standard Bank Group Annual Integrated Report, 2022
https://thevault.exchange/?get_group_doc=18/1680198603-SBG2022AnnualIntegratedReport.pdf
IFAD homepage
https://www.ifad.org/
PRIME Africa webpage
https://www.ifad.org/en/prime-africa
GFRID homepage
https://gfrid.org/
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