Africa-Press – Eswatini. Running from October 2025 to January 2026, Standard Bank Eswatini’s Choose Standard Bank campaign concluded today, 19 February 2026, with a grand prize-giving ceremony at the bank’s Mbabane headquarters.
Five lucky winners each won an all-expenses-paid trip to Cape Town, and each could bring a plus one. Other clients received 70-inch smart TV, smartphones, headphone, speaker, and power bank. The campaign encouraged customers to use digital banking, making transactions safer and reducing the risks of carrying cash. By turning digital transactions into rewards, Standard Bank showed how everyday banking can be both safe and rewarding.
In a festive season often shadowed by the dangers of cash, Standard Bank has rewritten the story for its clients. Through this high-impact initiative, the “Blue Bank” turned everyday transactions into a celebration of loyalty and promoted a “cash-lite” Eswatini, showing that every tap and swipe truly pays.
For many Emaswati, digital banking is first seen as a matter of convenience. But Standard Bank’s leadership emphasized an even more important benefit: personal safety. “At Standard Bank, we are intentional about campaigns that drive real economic participation,” said Olivia Healy Simelane, Head of Personal and Private Banking.
“Every tap, every swipe, every digital transaction represents something bigger. It reduces risk, encourages financial inclusion, and signals a shift toward safer, more convenient banking for our communities.” By encouraging clients to “run with cards, not cash,” the bank addresses a long-standing security concern, replacing the physical risks of carrying cash with encrypted, multi-layered digital protection.
The campaign also boosted digital adoption across the country, encouraging thousands of clients to embrace secure, convenient banking while competing for a share of the E850 000 prize pool. The results showed strong engagement and a meaningful increase in card and mobile transactions, demonstrating growing trust in the bank’s digital platforms.
The campaign’s close does not mark the end of Standard Bank’s digital push. In early 2026, the bank further strengthened its commitment by launching 24-hour digital branches in hubs such as Siphofaneni, allowing businesses and residents to deposit funds safely at any hour instead of storing cash overnight. “This is not about short-term gains; it is about long-term value creation,” Simelane emphasized. As Eswatini moves further into 2026, the message from the Blue Bank is clear: the future of banking is not just digital, it is secure, inclusive, and fundamentally safer for all.
