Absa Bank Kenya launches WhatsApp banking

The Kenyan arm of South Africa-based Absa Group is introducing a new offering called Abby. Abby is primarily a Whatsapp Banking service through which Absa Bank Kenya hopes to make banking closer and more seamless for its bankers.

Through Abby, users will be able to perform and satisfy basic banking needs, including balance inquiry, bill payments, bank-to-bank transfers, and transactions from users’ bank accounts to M-Pesa and Airtel money.

This is a concrete step towards the plans by Absa to ramp up the digitization of most, and maybe all, of its services. Earlier in 2021, the lender announced its intention to earmark KSh1.6bn (US$14.6m) for various projects that involve going digital with its services.

Though Absa has called Abby the first of its sort in Kenya, another lender, the Housing Finance Bank of Kenya announced and began the operation of a solution with the same facets in 2019.

During his address at a recent press briefing, the MD of Absa Bank Kenya Jeremy Awori said, “essentially, we are transforming banking from being a series of complex transactions into a simple conversation on WhatsApp. We have shaped a rich history as a bank of many firsts, and today we are excited to continue on this streak of innovation.”