“Banks that started late in the digital race can still win – if they partner with fintechs,” says Prudential Bank’s Acting Managing Director, Ebow Quayson. “Partnerships are no longer optional. They are the quickest route to scale.”

Speaking to a Pan-African audience at the Lafferty Retail Banking Council Africa Meeting, Mr. Quayson pointed to PBL’s own digital journey as proof saying fintechs came handy to close the gap on reach and service delivery almost overnight.

“At a time when our digital infrastructure was still developing, fintech partnerships enabled us to quickly bridge the gap in reach and service delivery,” he explained, citing mobile money integration and USSD-based services as key examples. “Prudential Bank was not a partner bank to any telco, yet customers needed mobile money services on the Bank’s USSD platform. Instead of building everything from scratch, the Bank turned to fintechs.

“They helped us narrow the gap quickly – in reach, speed to market, and value-added services,” he continued. “Within months, customers could buy airtime, pay TV bills, and settle utilities via USSD – something that would have taken years to develop on our own.”

He said the collaborations keep the Bank competitive and responsive, while improving operational efficiency through faster transaction processing and reconciliation.

Mr. Quayson credited PBL’s leadership for being open to experimentation. “We made a deliberate policy to target the right fintechs,” he said. “That mindset – willing to trust, share revenue, and co-create – has turned Prudential Bank into a more agile, responsive institution.”

Successful partnerships rest on trust, shared objectives, and mutual benefit, he noted. “It must be a win-win relationship,” extending beyond service delivery to joint business development and revenue sharing.

On fears that banks lose customer ownership to fintechs, Mr. Quayson disagreed. “The relationship is complementary, not competitive. Fintechs provide the tech backbone; the bank remains the primary customer interface.”

Mr. Quayson was blunt about the risks. Data protection and cybersecurity remain non-negotiable, he said. Any partnership must meet strict regulatory compliance and global standards to protect customer information and maintain trust. His closing warning: “Partnerships are not a free pass. Due diligence is everything.”

The session, themed “Partnerships and Scale: Progress of Fintech & Banking in Africa,” brought together banking leaders, fintech operators and other decision makers from across the continent.

Lafferty Retail Banking Council Africa is a confidential peer group for senior bank executives, established in 2015 by the Lafferty Group. Operating under Chatham House rules, it meets quarterly as a neutral forum to share best practice and drive digital innovation in African retail banking.