The group has a blueprint of sorts from another business it owns — PT Bank Amar Indonesia. Bank Amar is largely a digital institution, with loans and deposits for consumers handled over mobile phones. The ex-Barclays PLC executive said the inspiration for becoming a digital bank came from an unlikely source — the group’s paper mill operations in tech-forward Estonia. Tolaram is to face stiff competition from incumbents, such as Standard Chartered PLC, which is rolling out digital banking services across the continent. Africa already has a fully digital bank in ALAT, which was started in Nigeria in 2017 by Wema Bank PLC.
