The banking industry was brought by the colonial powers to East Africa and has since carried a British system of banking. British companies providing banking services like De La Rue still have a significant imprint in the industry in East Africa. Currently, the region has got many banking institutions both foreign and local. The History begins from 1919 when the East African currency board was created and is followed by the independence era when individual countries sought autonomy in monetary issues and comes to the present when the states are pressing for the regional monetary integration. To many, the region seems to be going back to where it started from but to others, it’s a pursuit of larger advantages that come with the monetary unification of nations.
With the ever increasing challenges in the economy stemming from the global economic crises, the banking industry is always devising other means of survival. Also, the advent of technological innovations has also taken banking in East Africa to yet another level. Things like mobile money, electronic banking, mobile phone banking have redefined the banking industry and the players are ever seeking new strategies of dealing with all these changes in order to stay afloat. The East Africa region covers the covers the countries of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.