Stanbic Bank, Uganda Bankers Association engage online media creators to boost national financial-fraud awareness and strengthen digital consumer protection

November 25, 2025 in Companies, Financial Services by Editor

Stanbic Bank Uganda, working jointly with the Uganda Bankers Association (UBA), has launched a strategic engagement with online media personalities, digital editors, influential content creators and social-media figures to strengthen public awareness around financial fraud. The initiative recognises the growing influence of digital platforms as Ugandans increasingly rely on online sources for financial information.

Opening the meeting, Candy Wekesa Okoboi, Stanbic Bank’s Head of Legal, said the banking sector must collaborate with credible digital voices as fraud schemes evolve in complexity. “With more Ugandans—especially women, youth and farmers—depending on online sources for financial information, strengthening public awareness through trusted digital creators is essential. Fraudsters thrive on misinformation. We must work together to ensure customers receive clear, accurate guidance,” she said.
She noted that online channels now play a frontline role in consumer protection, particularly during the festive period and the heated political season, when fraud attempts typically increase.

Stanbic’s Head of Fraud Risk Management, Sophia Nakazibwe, stressed that proactive education remains the most effective defence. “Fraud tactics are becoming more sophisticated, but well-informed customers are far less likely to fall victim. Engaging online media helps us meet people where they already are,” she said.

Representing the Uganda Bankers Association, cyber-risk specialist Ronald Mugisha highlighted the need for collective industry action. “This is not a challenge any bank can solve alone. The entire industry is collaborating to strengthen public resilience, and online creators are crucial partners because they shape how Uganda receives and interprets information today.”

From a media-development standpoint, Flora Aduk of the African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) commended the shift toward empowering digital communicators. “Online influencers have become important intermediaries in public information. When they are equipped with accurate context and responsible reporting practices, their impact on public safety is significant,” she said.

Stanbic Bank’s Country Manager for Corporate Communications and Chair of the UBA Committee on Marketing and Communication, Kenneth Agutamba, reiterated the industry’s unified commitment. “This engagement reflects our collective obligation to safeguard the financial ecosystem. UBA member banks are collaborating to ensure consistent, credible messaging that counters fraud at scale—and digital creators play an indispensable role in that effort.”

Participants from the creator community welcomed the initiative. One content creator noted that direct engagement “shows banks understand today’s media reality. Fraud awareness needs to be communicated in formats people actually consume—short, clear, digital-first content.”

Another participant, Anderson Katongole, emphasised the value of proper guidance: “Many times influencers are contacted without being trained or given adequate information. That’s why important messages get mixed with dance challenges that may be fun but not informative. We thank Stanbic Bank for this initiative.”

The engagement forms part of ongoing efforts by Stanbic Bank and the UBA to promote public financial safety, improve online information quality and advance collaborative approaches across Uganda’s rapidly evolving digital information landscape.