With the establishment of the Financial Sector Charter, all the major banks are now 'committed' to provide banking f a c i l i t i es to anyone within a ten-kilometer radius of their home. Specific deadlines have been set, in which these banks will face huge penalties, if they have not achieved the agreed proposals. The justification for this study is to have a look at the feasibility of this charter in meeting the goals proposed without having a detrimental effect on the long-term profitability of Standard Bank. Making banking affordable to the previously unbanked sector is paramount to the success of bringing more people back into the financial mainstream. Mention must be made that banks with poor business models, reckless management practices and poor corporate governance do go out of business in South Africa and elsewhere. During this study, an in-depth literature review was done to analyze the causes of strategic failures in the South African financial services sector, as well as analyzing the strategies proposed by other leading financial institutions within the local and international financial services industry and comparing this to Standard Bank's strategy. The research technique is essentially qualitative, but will involve the collection of quantitative and qualitative data through the use of a questionnaire. This dissertation investigates what the big four banks in South Africa (with emphasis on Standard Bank) have achieved regarding opening up access to their saving and lending facilities to the unbanked, taking cognizance of the trends locally and internationally, finally leading to a conclusion as to the most appropriate strategy for the future. An investigation will be conducted into whether this financial institution should employ a prescriptive or emergent strategy approach in order to successfully compete in this sector. The different lending strategies, namely linkage banking, downscaling, and dedicated banks are analyzed with reference to the international experience. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

The attention of information, communications, and technology (ICT) designers, developers, implementers, consultants, and venture capitalists, in the banking arena, has been focused on the corporate sector and on the commercial and corporate applications of ICT. Banking technology usage such as those by lower-income communities, have been marginalised and largely left unattended. During the past five years, activities, behaviours, and attitudes of the financial services industry increased, in favour of the under-serviced mass market. Global growth of electronic payment banking systems and usage has brought about a considerable amount of technological advancement. The low-income market has become a subject of interest by ICT solution providers, banks and credit-offering incumbents , academics, government, and alternative non-banks and non-governmental organisations (NGO’s). Despite the global increase in interest and technology usage, the inability to act on the augment, within the borders of Swaziland, is the primal focus of this research. Swaziland’s mass market can be transformed and banked through the proper deployment of ICTs. The ability to bank the un-banked, in viewing ICT as the enabler of the small society along with its various communities; those excluded because of cultural and educational restrictions; physical location and low income constraints; the disabled etc., can be achieved. This dissertation investigates and analyses the present situation of banking in Swaziland, the related entities involved, and attempts to formulate an appropriate strategy for the successful implementation of a suitable banking solution in the Swazi context. This includes the recognition that access, to any ICT, in itself is insufficient, and illustrates, through the use of community informatics (CI), systems theory, change management theory, and the essential pre-study towards the utilisation of ICT deployed on a grand scale. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Informatics / unrestricted