Ecobank Group Digital Transactions Hit $59.1bn In Nine Months

Ecobank Group said it recorded transactions valued at $59.1 billion across its digital channels in the first nine months of 2022. The company disclosed this in its audited financial report for the 9-month ended September 2022.

According to the company, this represents a 44 per cent increase compared with the $40.4 billion it recorded in the same period last year.

A closer look at the various digital channels of the company shows that the Ecobank Omni Plus recorded the largest transaction value within the period at $37.8 billion. Through its mobile app and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), Ecobank recorded $4.2 billion within the period.

Its Omni Lite channel recorded transactions valued at $4.1 billion, while Ecobank Online and Xpress Points (Agency Network) recorded $755 million and $3.7 billion transactions respectively. The company also posted transactions valued at $8.1 billion through other indirect digital channels. The company’s result: Ecobank in the 9-month financial result reported a 7 per cent increase in revenue from $1.26 billion in the same period of 2021 to $1.35 billion in the period under review. The bank’s operating profit expanded by 12 per cent to $593 million, up from $528 million filed in the corresponding period of 2021, Profit before tax rose to $401 million, a 14 per cent increase from $352 million achieved in 2021. Profit paid to shareholders grew by 7 per cent from $182 million to $196 million.

CEO’s comment: Ecobank Group’s CEO, Ade Ayeyemi, while commenting on the result, said: “We continued to deliver on our strategic priorities and are on track to meet full-year targets despite the complex operating environment. Group-wide return on tangible equity reached a record 21 per cent, and profit before tax increased by 14 per cent, or 48 per cent at constant currency (i.e., excluding currency movements). These results reflect the resilience, strong brand and diversification of our pan-African franchise.

“We saw decent client activity in consumer and wholesale payments, trade finance and foreign currency markets. Additionally, despite inflationary pressures, we maintained a tight lid on costs, thereby improving our cost-to-income ratio to 56.3 per cent from 58.3 per cent in the previous year. The dampened economic outlook necessitated maintaining a sound balance sheet with adequate levels of liquidity and capital. As a result, our total capital adequacy ratio at 14.4 per cent is well above our internal and minimum regulatory limits,” he said.