According to a survey by the Cible firm, Afriland First Bank and Société Générale are leading the way in online services with an estimated usage rate of around 40%, while BGFI Bank and CCA Bank are however making remarkable progress.
In 2023, the rate of diffusion of the digitalization of banks in companies fell by 7 points. From 93% in 2022, it rose to 86% this year according to a study carried out by the Cible et Conseil firm. In its barometer on the penetration of banking services within Cameroonian companies, Cible nevertheless points out that the online banking service remains the most used by companies. 74% of companies use online banking services compared to 66% for electronic banking and 57% for the mobile banking application.
This survey carried out among 400 companies of all sizes reveals strong competition from banks to offer digital services to this segment of their customers. Afriland First Bank and Société Générale are two main challengers that dominate this market. Afriland First Bank remains the leader in online banking services, with 41% of its business customers using these services. The presence of its online services is particularly marked among small businesses, with a rate of 54%, followed by medium-sized businesses at 44%, and large businesses at 30%. Its customers, particularly SMEs, place trust “ to Afriland First Bank’s online banking solutions to manage their financial operations efficiently and conveniently », Comments the investigation.
Despite its leadership, Afriland faces tough competition from Société Générale Cameroun. The local subsidiary of the French group constitutes a serious challenger for the Cameroonian bank in the field of online banking services. While Afriland First Bank displays a rate of 41%, SGC is close behind with 40% of its corporate clients using online banking services. Here we observe high usage among large companies, with a rate of 45%, while SMEs show a rate of 14% for small businesses and 37% for medium businesses. After Afriland and SGC, UBA comes in third position with a rate of 35% followed by BGFI Bank Cameroun (30%) and BICEC which closes the quinté with 26%.
In this environment where we note the rapid evolution of the banking sector towards digital transformation, the study reveals the progress of certain banks which stand out for their innovations. UBA, for example, is the main challenger to Afriland First Bank in the SME digitalization market. BGFI Bank and CCA Bank have particularly improved their degree of diffusion of digitalization in companies according to the survey. “ BGFI Bank and CCA Bank have demonstrated an ability to strengthen their digital offering to better meet the needs of corporate clients. On the other hand, the banks with the largest presence in the market, such as Afriland, SGC and BICEC, have maintained relative stability in this area, indicating that they have been able to maintain their position of confidence while continuing their commitment to digitalization to support their customers in the constantly evolving digital era » underlines Cible.
