Absa Bets on Embedded Finance to Bank Africa’s Unbanked
Africa’s digital finance revolution is picking up speed and Absa is making sure it stays ahead of the curve. In a compelling piece authored by Tawanda Chatikobo, Head of Digital Banking at Absa Regional Operations, the bank outlines its vision for balancing high-performance digital experiences with sustainable operational economics.
With customer demands growing ever more sophisticated, Chatikobo argues that financial service providers must deliver digital platforms on par with global tech giants like Meta or streaming services not just other banks.
“Today’s consumers expect seamless, fast, and intuitive digital services across every industry,” he wrote. “That includes financial services, where user experience must now rival global digital leaders.”
Absa is tackling this challenge by overhauling its digital channels from the ground up designing platforms that not only accelerate time-to-market but are also cost-effective and deeply user-focused.
Africa’s 1.5 billion people are increasingly mobile-led, with over 763 million registered mobile money accounts, according to GSMA. Absa reports that digital activity among its customers has reached up to 80% in leading markets, further confirming that mobile-first strategies are no longer optional—they are essential.
While banks race to meet expectations, Chatikobo notes that the real challenge lies in pairing gold-standard digital experiences with cost efficiency. “It’s not enough to simply digitize; we must digitize well and economically,” he emphasized.
This dual imperative has pushed Absa to embrace embedded finance and open banking. In Kenya, the bank has partnered with Safaricom, allowing customers to access Absa services within the widely used M-PESA platform. Similarly, in Mauritius, Absa has created an open banking marketplace where third-party platforms can integrate seamlessly.
The future of digital finance, Chatikobo suggests, lies in super apps all-in-one platforms that bundle banking, insurance, e-commerce, and lifestyle services in a single interface. When executed well, these apps become central to a user’s life. But poor design or service failures can erode trust quickly.
“Super apps are powerful tools for financial inclusion,” he said, pointing to M-PESA as a market-dominating example. “They give customers frictionless, daily access to financial and non-financial tools, helping drive both engagement and economic participation.”
The piece concludes with a powerful reflection: over 80 million adults in sub-Saharan Africa remain unbanked. Absa’s digital strategies aim to lower barriers to entry by simplifying account creation, enabling embedded services, and integrating with platforms people already use.
“If we continue using innovation to make banking easier, faster, and more relevant, we can close economic gaps, empower entrepreneurs, and reduce poverty,” said Chatikobo. “We just have to stay dynamic.”
As Africa’s digital banking landscape evolves, institutions like Absa are proving that speed, accessibility, and innovation are not mutually exclusive—they are essential pillars of a future-ready financial ecosystem.
