Ettienne Mostert, Business Development and Partnerships Manager, Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika, University of Cape Town , writes that empathy and human-centred design could be the missing link in narrowing the digital banking divide.
South Africas major banks are closing physical branches and ATMs at an unprecedented rate. Standard Bank, for example, has reduced its branch footprint by 42 since 2017, while Absa , FNB , and Nedbank have also scaled back operations. The industry is clearly moving towards digital-first banking. But this transformation raises an urgent question: how will the 3.9 million unbanked South Africans access financial services in a world increasingly dominated by apps and online platforms?
According to the World Banks latest Global Findex report , titled Connectivity and Financial Inclusion In The Digital Economy , 80 million adults in Sub-Saharan Africa have the prerequisites to join a bank, including mobile phones, personal IDs, and SIM cards, but they remain unbanked. The challenge isnt technology. These individuals are not rejecting apps or digital banking they are hesitant to trust financial institutions, find the products irrelevant, or face barriers to physically accessing banks.