Intense focus on clients will ensure we compete and win – Standard Bank CEO

Standard Bank, the largest lender in Africa by assets, is eyeing a larger portion of the continent's burgeoning digital payments industry. The bank's recent financial statements reveal the potential magnitude of this market. Domestic transaction values grew by 11% in the first half of 2026, while cross-border values expanded by 7%. Standard Bank currently holds a 30% share of cross-border payments in South Africa and a 19% share across Africa, making it the continent's leading transactional franchise by payment value.

This expansion aligns with the growing importance of payments in capturing value from Africa's digital economy. Standard Bank's payments business is bolstering deposit growth, merchant acquiring, cross-border fee income, and value-added services. The Africa Regions business contributed R10.4 billion, or 40%, of the group's headline earnings in the first half of 2026.

The bank's strategy extends beyond merely transitioning customers from physical branches to digital platforms. By linking consumers and businesses to domestic and cross-border commerce, Standard Bank is leveraging digital transactions to strengthen customer relationships and generate new revenue streams. CEO Sim Tshabalala highlighted strong client-led growth in non-interest revenue, with the Africa Regions segment contributing 40% of group headline earnings.

Tshabalala also emphasized the need for South Africa to deepen its economic integration with the rest of the continent to fully capitalize on Africa's growth potential. This shift is evident in the bank's South African retail business, where digital retail transactional clients increased by 9% in the first half, and digital transactional volumes surged by 17%. By June, 69% of Standard Bank's transactional clients were utilizing digital channels.

A significant driver of this transformation is the bank's emphasis on technology. As of June, 72% of Standard Bank's employees were utilizing generative AI tools, with 87 AI use cases approved across the group. The bank's AI-enabled recommendation systems facilitated over 10 million personalized client interactions during this period. Furthermore, 78% of the bank's computing infrastructure has been migrated to the cloud, providing a scalable platform for AI deployment across customer-facing and employee workflows.

Standard Bank has secured the top position in Africa in the inaugural Evident AI Index for Banks - Middle East and Africa, published in June. The bank ended the first half with 19.5 million active clients, witnessing a 10% rise in headline earnings to R26.1 billion ($1.6 billion) and an improvement in return on equity to 19.8%. The bank is also bolstering its continental ambitions by investing additional capital in Standard Bank Tanzania and planning to increase its stake in Standard Bank Angola in the second half of the year.

Tshabalala emphasized that Africa is poised for significant growth ahead of most regions, and the opportunities across the continent remain substantial. However, competition is intensifying, regulations are evolving, and technology is advancing rapidly. "Recent global volatility has reinforced the value of this diversified franchise," Tshabalala stated.

This positions Standard Bank in a highly competitive race for Africa's digital transaction flows, as a Mastercard-commissioned Genesis Analytics report projects the continent's payments market could reach $1.5 trillion by 2030.