This year Steward Bank celebrates its 8^th anniversary. Biblically the number 8 is considered to be a symbol of the beginning of new things. As we reflect, this is a fitting depiction of the position we find ourselves in at this time.

“We are privileged to not only be witnessing but actively participating in such a pivotal season for the Bank. Having successfully launched the Purple Ark, we have stepped into a phase where our thoughts and work are framed by the vision to digitally transform our services. We draw inspiration from the 8 people in Noah’s Ark that survived the Biblical great flood, with the duty to begin a new life after the flood. Turning 8 so soon after our system upgrade marks a new beginning,” said Mr. Mashavave, Steward Bank’s CEO.

Steward Bank transitioned from TN Bank in 2013 following its acquisition by Econet Wireless Zimbabwe in 2012. The Bank is now part of the Cassava Smartech group as of December 2018.  Cassava Smartech’s mandate is to use digital solutions to drive socio-economic development, and to improve the overall quality of life for all Africans. Over the years, Steward Bank’s work has been steeped in this same mandate: to be a pioneer in the country’s digital banking space. We have positioned ourselves to drive financial inclusion, demystify banking, and integrate banking services into everyday life for our customers.

Our passion for financial inclusion has given us the drive to make banking accessible to every Zimbabwean no matter their location. From the start, our banking requirements and account opening process were easy; one of our product offerings was the iSave account, which requires only an ID to open. As a result, we experienced tremendous growth in a short space of time as many members of society gained access to banking facilities, some for the very first time.

To ensure we were able to offer our wide customer base a seamless and convenient banking experience, we began to work on implementing a number of innovations that would position us as a fully-fledged Digital Bank. This path has led Steward Bank to several opportunities for revolutionary innovation. Since then we have introduced the Kwenga, a low-cost, pocket-sized point of sale device; Batsi,  one of Zimbabwe’s first customer service chatbots; digital account opening with the launch of *236# banking; PurpleKonnect, a video banking service; and Kashagi, an instant loan.

In October 2019, Steward Bank embarked on a journey that will always be a significant part of our history. Influenced by the need to keep up with world-class standards in offering tailor-made and efficient customer experience to our clients, the Purple Ark was born. This is the biggest Core Banking System upgrade the Bank has undertaken since its inception. As we were still setting the groundwork for the cutover, the COVID-19 virus broke out. We were not to be deterred, rather, the global pandemic cemented our resolve to successfully cutover and explore the new opportunities for digital transformation in a lockdown world.

Steward Bank announced the successful launch of the Purple Ark in April 2021. With the achievement of this key milestone, the foundation work on which our digital transformation will stand was complete. Given the magnitude of the upgrade, teething problems were experienced on platforms like RTGS, however, the majority of our platforms like the Square App and *210# are experiencing faster processing times, much to the delight of our customers. Thanks to the increased capacity proffered by the upgrade, we are now able to offer Online Banking to our iSave customers, reducing the need to travel to a physical branch for the majority of our customers. Users of our Visa Globetrotter cards are now able to manage their cards via an app that allows customers to check their card balances, transfer funds from one card to another and perform crucial security functions like card blocking in the event of loss or theft of the card.

Looking ahead, we envision a future where technology will empower our customers to access more self-services tools and platforms, freeing up a lot more time to enjoy life without the hassle of queuing for banking services. We see our vision to be the premier provider of digital financial solutions suited to the needs of the diverse people of Zimbabwe becoming a deeply entrenched reality for our customers.

Here’s to the future!