Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, has announced its partnership with Bento Africa to offer more value-added services to Nigerian businesses of all sizes.
Bento Africa is a payroll and Human Resource Management (HRM) company with a mission to meet work wherever it happens, expand broader access to a wider range of financial services and drive inclusion across the continent.
Speaking on the rationale behind the partnership, Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Wole Adeniyi, stated that the bank was committed to delivering more digitised value-added services to businesses and SMEs.
He said: “All the businesses we serve pay their salaries of their employees through the provision of a world-class technology platform that enhances how they relate with our bank, which drove this strategic partnership.
“We are delighted to partner with Bento Africa, who currently serve over 1,000 businesses in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda, with plans to expand 10 other countries by the end of the year. Bento Africa is modernising the payroll and human resources management market in Africa, which has traditionally relied on laborious, manual processes to handle payroll.
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The start-up helps businesses of all sizes to automate the disbursement of salaries and other statutory remittances, including taxes and pensions with a single click.
“Stanbic IBTC customers can access Bento’s services through our digital platforms, including payroll and human resources services, detailed financial data analytics and seamless payment of employees in the formal and informal sectors, while staying compliant with local laws.”
He further explained that the Bento platform was embedded in the Stanbic IBTC SMEs internet banking portal, where customers could access the website and get registered, adding: “Customers can access the Bento platform by clicking the Bento digital icon on our SME internet banking, which will redirect them to the Bento web portal for registration.
“The service will be free for Stanbic IBTC customers for the first three months and is a welcome development for businesses that spend hours every month manually processing payroll and calculating and submitting statutory remittances, which is not only laborious but often leads to errors and the problem of ghost workers.
Speaking on behalf of the Bento Africa team, its founders, Ebun Okubanjo and Chidozie David Okonkwo, said: “We see this as the beginning of much deeper partnerships with established institutions and start-ups. We are not surprised that Stanbic IBTC was the first on the table, as the bank is grounded in innovations and we have enjoyed working with the management. We are excited about the future of salaries and benefits and what that will mean for the employer, the employee and society in general.”
Stanbic IBTC and Bento Africa expressed the view that the spirit of innovation that gave birth to the partnership would inevitably lead to more value-added services for Stanbic IBTC customers.
