Converged telecommunications company Safaricom has entered into a partnership with the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) that will see it provide converged data services to banks in Kenya.
Through its enterprise business unit, Safaricom will provide connectivity solutions for cheque truncations in all banks that are members of the Kenya Bankers Association. The cheque truncation project is expected to result in a reduction of the time required for payment of cheques – a cut in the associated cost of transit thus speeding up the process of realization of cheques, a big plus to the Banking industry players, stakeholders and the general public.

The deal that was signed at a Nairobi Hotel will see the Kenya Bankers Association join a growing clientele of high profile corporate organizations that have signed up with Safaricom in the recent times for the provision of corporate data services. These services are also available to small and medium enterprises and individual clients.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, Safaricom’s General Manager for the enterprise business unit Sylvia Mulinge, said the company was best placed to offer converged telecommunications solutions ranging from voice, data to general IT service, given its wide and robust infrastructure.

“Through our state-of-the-art infrastructure underscored by our deep investment in fiber optic systems and redundancy satellite equipment, Safaricom is best placed to offer and deliver managed services and data centers in the areas of storage, video conferencing and most recently, cloud computing. In dealing with our diverse customer base ranging from individual, corporate to government, Safaricom has put in place mechanisms aimed at providing tailor-made services that meet the specific needs of each segment,” says Ms Mulinge.

The company has in the past decade evolved from the provision of basic voice and mobile data services to becoming an integrated provider of all voice, data and IT related services to businesses.  Early this year, Safaricom became the first telecoms provider in the region to launch commercial TelePresence suites targeting corporate and government entities. In partnership with TATA Communications, Cisco and the Serena Hotels, the service drastically cuts operation costs especially those associated with travel for corporate organizations.

Mr. Bill Olaka, CEO of Kenya Bankers Association pointed out that the liberalization of telecommunication sector has invited new players leading to a lot of improvements in the sector. He also expressed confidence in the Safaricom team to deliver as expected in the contract.

The cheque truncation project promises numerous advantages both to banks and their customers as it is expected to provide for faster clearing of cheques, more accurate settling and reconciliation of bank accounts and fewer avenues for corruption due to reduced paper work.