Pearl Bank and Stanbic Bank partner to Drive Uganda’s Digital Financial Inclusion Agenda
By Solomon Lubambula
In an effort to scale up access to financial services, Pearl Bank (formerly PostBank Uganda) and Stanbic Bank have integrated their digital payment platforms to easy transactions to spur economic growth.
Figures indicate that there only 4.2 million active bank accounts despite the 23 million working Ugandans.
Now in a partnership that signals collaboration over competition, Pearl Bank Uganda and Stanbic Bank Uganda have announced the integration of their digital wallets —Wendi and FlexiPay. Collectively, both platforms serve over a million users offering both saving, credit, and e-commerce transaction services.
According to financial experts, this collaboration will permit users of both platforms to transact seamlessly and at significantly subsidised fees, making financial services more affordable and accessible to millions of Ugandans.
This announcement comes in handy as government is enforcing financial inclusion and digital transformation agenda.
Kenneth Mumba Kalifungwa, Chief Executive, Stanbic Bank Uganda said that this partnership is a win for ordinary Ugandans. “By connecting FlexiPay and Wendi, we are breaking down digital walls and ensuring that no matter where you live or who you bank with, you can transact safely and affordably”-Mumba noted.
Mumba stressed that the partnershio directly supports Stanbic’s growth agenda for Women, Youth, and Farmers (WYF) under its Positive Impact pillar on Financial Inclusion.
Julius Kakeeto, Managing Director & CEO, Pearl Bank Uganda (formerly Post Bank Uganda) said that Wendi has been at the heart of implementing government programmes that promote financial inclusion across the country, empowering them to take full advantage of digital financial services.
“With a customer base of over one million and an agent base of over 8000, the partnership with FlexiPay is timely because our users will gain greater convenience and access to a wider merchant and agent network”-Kakeeto explained.
He further noted that considering the objective for which Wendi was designed, that is to ensure that Ugandans are included in the money economy this collaboration is a big step toward achieving Uganda’s National-Financial-Inclusion-Strategy-2023-2028.”
This strategic move is expected to benefit the financial inclusion strategy because it will expand access and impact.
FlexiPay currently enjoys a distribution network of over 17,800 agents serving over half a million retail and merchant wallets across the country.
Wendi, on the other hand, has enjoyed fast growth and played a central role easing government disbursements under the Parish Development Model (PDM), reaching thousands of beneficiaries in rural communities.
The integration means users on either platform can send, receive, and pay seamlessly removing the barriers that have traditionally made digital transactions between networks slow and costly.
According to the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (2023–2028), access to formal financial services in Uganda has improved from 52% in 2013 to 68% in 2023, largely driven by mobile and digital innovation. Yet, many rural Ugandans especially women, youth, and farmers remain excluded.
This partnership is a powerful catalyst for expanding digital access, promoting cashless trade, and supporting livelihoods in rural and peri-urban communities.
Considering even Ugandans using USSD phones, coupled with the minimal charges per transaction, this move is expected to reach deep into rural Uganda especially among farmers, youth entrepreneurs, and women-led enterprises which will subsequently build stronger, more inclusive local economies.
