Global Finance names Ecobank Most Innovative Bank in Africa

Global Finance has named Ecobank as the most innovative bank in Africa.

The announcement was made at the eighth Global Finance annual awards, the Innovators 2020, honoring entities that regularly identify new paths and design new tools in finance.

Categories in the award include Top Innovations in Corporate Finance, Payments, Trade Finance, Cash Management, Islamic Finance, with Winners selected from different regions of the world.

The classes of award comprised Most Innovative Banks in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Central & Eastern Europe, Latin America, Middle East, North America and Western Europe; The Most Innovative Fintech Companies in Asia-Pacific, Central & Eastern Europe, North America and Western Europe; and The Best Financial Innovation Labs.

At the virtual awards announcement, Anita Hawser, European Editor at Global Finance and Lead, Global Finance Awards evaluation team, noted that companies recognized at the Innovators 2020 significantly stood apart.

She said the review panel looked at innovation in the context  of product or process innovation, as they were ultimately more concerned with the impact of innovation in terms of creating value for customers or addressing a specific need, like speeding up lending or credit review process for small businesses; enabling companies to deposit cheques remotely and not having to visit the branches.

According to her, these are innovations that significantly reduce the time or cost of companies to perform financial tasks and really transform customers’ business lives helping them operate more effectively in a significantly challenging business and economic environment.

In his remark, Ade Ayeyemi, Ecobank Group CEO said: “We are pleased to be recognised as the “Most Innovative Bank in Africa” by Global Finance. This attests to the strength of our brand in multiple countries across Africa, our unique pan-African platform, and our innovative banking products and solutions made possible by the success of our digital transformation journey.”

With a larger African footprint than any other bank operating in West, Central, East and Southern Africa, Ecobank is the only bank that has banking operations that spans 33  African countries, operating a truly integrated African network.

That is One unified integrated Ecobank Mobile Banking App, that works seamlessly across all 33 operating countries in Africa; One Ecobank Omni and Omni Lite serving  Multinationals and SMEs in Africa; One Rapid transfer app that breaks down country borders and allows the diaspora community send money directly to their loved ones, instantly and affordably across Africa; One Ecobank Online Banking platform that can be easily accessed across 33 African countries.

The Ecobank Group’s unique and largest pan-African platform is designed to help unlock the opportunities of the continent, for the benefit of the continent, through standardization, thereby enabling regional integration, and trade and investment across borders.

With the Group’s sterling performance, it has been severally recognized as ‘Best Retail Bank in Africa 2019’ at African Banker Awards; Most Admired Financial Services Brand in Africa 2019 by Brand Africa 100; Best Digital Bank in Africa – 2017 by Euromoney Awards; Best Retail Bank and Innovation in Banking both in 2018 by the African Banker Awards amongst others.