South African banking group Standard Bank announces the closure of 91 agencies and the suppression of about 1,200 jobs in South Africa starting from June 2019.  

According to the bank, this is due to clients’ preference for digital banking products and services.

“This has not been an easy decision to make. We admit that it is a stressful period for everybody,” Standard Bank indicated in a statement.

In its financial report published in December 2018, the group indicated that its clients’ online banking app use has risen to 30% to reach 1.3 million people. It also revealed that the volume of electronic transactions on its platform rose by 26% while the volume of transactions in agencies decreased by 13%.

“Our clients’ preference for digital channels is unmistakable. We must take advantage of our IT assets, deploy and digitalize our delivery process. This will require a reallocation of our physical assets towards digital assets and a reconfiguration of our infrastructures,” the bank indicated in its 2018 end of year report.

Standard Bank currently employs more than 54,000 people in the 20 subsidiaries across Africa.

Chamberline Moko