Joseph Bonyo
9 July 2009
Nairobi — You can now buy or sell shares from the comfort of your house or office following the launch of a service that only requires you to have a mobile phone.
Standard Investment Bank on Thursday introduced a short message service for its clients to place orders for shares trading at the Nairobi Stock Exchange.
According to the banks' executive chairman James Wangunyu, the EasyHisa mobile product is aimed at offering convenient services to their clients.
Find time
"Clients are increasingly getting busy and do not find time to physically come to the offices. The product, therefore, aims at offering that convenience of time as well as reduce costs," Mr Wangunyu told journalists in Nairobi.
The new service will, however, have to guarantee security to investors who have become prone to fraud text messages before they can fully embrace it.
"We are assuring our clients that this service is secure and we shall be confirming to them within one hour of placing their orders with us," said Mr Donald Wangunyu, a director of the firm.
The investment bank joins a league of several service providers that have signed up with mobile phone firms for payment of their services.
This mode has gained popularity with the increase in penetration of the mobile phone handset in the country currently estimated at 33 per cent.
Trading at the NSE has grown over time with the bourse in 2006 adopting an automated trading system that heralded the market into a more technology based trading from the previous open cry system.
Adopt technology
"The CMA has constantly urged that market players adopt technology that creates convenience for investors. As a player, we have taken this into account and hope others too, do the same," said the investment bank chairman.
The Central Depository and Settlement Corporation as part of its custodial service also has an SMS update for investors interested in tracking their shares. The service enables the public to keep a tab on their stock's performance.
While several players in the capital markets have constantly embraced online service for placing and executing sale and buy orders from clients, this is yet to take root.
The situation has been blamed on the lack of Internet access to a majority of retail investors at the stock market.
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