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Senior Business Reporter
A LOCAL commercial bank, Metbank says the Covid-19-induced lockdown has proved that the future of banking lies in digitalisation and to remain relevant to its customer base it will continue upgrading its e-banking facilities and offer customer-centric technological solutions to banking.

During Covid-19 lockdowns, business virtually shut down forcing many entities to resort to e-commerce.

Several banks closed branches while others stopped accepting physical documents as the country ramped up preventive measures against the spread of the pandemic.

In its financial results for the year ending December 31, the bank said following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has become apparent that modern digital technology is key in running a bank.

“The future is more digital, online and characterised by shorter supply chains, thus our allocation of resources towards digitalisation and offering customer-centric technological solutions to banking should be maintained” said Dr Linda Chipunza, the bank’s chairperson.

Dr Chipunza noted that the bank’s thrust towards digitalisation proved successful as clients could be assisted remotely via different digital platforms when strict lockdown measures were implemented by the Government in early 2020.

“It has become apparent that digitalisation is key to running a modern bank and thus we will continue to improve service delivery through the upgrade of e-banking and financially inclusive products”.

The use of electronic platforms has seen a growth in mobile money usage which is envisaged to continue on a growth trajectory path as more customers are turning to it for convenience.

Dr Chipunza said the continued implementation of disinflation policies and fine-tuning of the foreign exchange auction market by both Government and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe are expected to keep average annual inflation at two-digit levels in 2022 and 2023.

“We are optimistic of the imminent economic recovery and we expect the economy to grow at a rate of about five percent hinged on continued stability in the macroeconomic environment bolstered by policy consistency, increased agricultural output, increased energy production as well as growth of both the manufacturing and construction sectors,” she said.

The Second Republic has adopted several policy measures to stabilise the domestic currency exchange rate, steady and lower inflation among a cocktail of policy measures across the economy.

In the year under review, the Bank reported a historical profit after tax of ZWL$6,1 billion.

On capitalisation, the bank remained compliant with the revised regulatory minimum capital requirements of ZW$ equivalent of US$30 million. – @nqobilebhebhe