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From left, Head of Marketing and Communications, I&M Bank Limited, Mwihaki Wachira, General Manager, Digital Business, I&M Bank Limited, Michael Mwangi and General Manager, Personal & Business Banking at I&M Bank Ltd, Shameer Patel during the Bank to mobile wallet charges press briefing where all Mpesa charges for bank to mobile money transfer were waivered.{Photo/I&M Bank/Red House PR. Agency}
In a significant stride toward modernizing financial crime prevention, ThetaRay, a global pioneer in Cognitive AI-driven compliance solutions, has announced a groundbreaking partnership with I&M Group PLC, a leading regional financial services provider in Africa. This collaboration marks a new chapter in the continent’s financial sector, as I&M Group prepares to implement ThetaRay’s cutting-edge AML (Anti-Money Laundering) platform across its operations in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, and Mauritius.
This innovative deployment promises to transform I&M Group’s entire compliance landscape, covering critical activities from customer onboarding and sanctions screening to dynamic risk assessment, transaction monitoring, alerting, investigations, and regulatory reporting. By consolidating these processes into a single, unified system, I&M Group aims to replace fragmented, manual operations with an AI-powered framework capable of scaling seamlessly across multiple jurisdictions and diverse business lines.
A New Standard in AI-Driven Financial Crime Prevention
Jamie Loden, Chief Operating Officer of I&M Bank, expressed confidence in the partnership’s potential: “ThetaRay distinguishes itself as a genuinely AI-driven solution, setting a new standard for managing financial crime risk. Its sophisticated technology consolidates disparate compliance tasks into a streamlined system, empowering our teams to improve accuracy and respond swiftly to emerging AML threats.”
The alliance aligns with I&M Group’s strategic vision to build a next-generation compliance infrastructure that not only enhances regulatory resilience but also supports regional growth. As the regulatory environment in East Africa continues to evolve rapidly, staying ahead of compliance demands is more crucial than ever.
Positioning I&M at the Forefront of Digital Regulation
Zipporah Gitau, Group Chief Risk and Compliance Officer at I&M Group, highlighted the importance of this move: “With central banks emphasizing intelligence-led oversight and digital reporting, our partnership with ThetaRay positions I&M at the forefront of innovative risk management. By transforming how we detect, assess, and report financial crime, we are establishing a dynamic compliance foundation that meets today’s regulatory standards and fuels our expansion across the region.”
The platform’s deployment will cover a broad spectrum of banking services, including retail and corporate banking, trade finance, investment banking, capital markets, remittance, and e-wallet services. It incorporates ThetaRay’s latest advancements, such as the Generative AI Risk Catalog, which offers smarter, faster management of evolving threats. This pre-configured, continuously updated tool enables institutions to deploy relevant, explainable, and regulator-aligned risk typologies at scale—an essential feature for adaptive and proactive compliance.
AI as the New Benchmark for Regional Banking Excellence
Peter Reynolds, CEO of ThetaRay, commented on the significance of this initiative: “I&M Group’s proactive move demonstrates a strong commitment to operational excellence and regulatory agility. By adopting ThetaRay’s comprehensive platform, I&M is setting a new industry standard in East Africa—showing that AI-first compliance can be both a shield against financial crime and a catalyst for growth. This collaboration exemplifies how forward-thinking banks can enhance resilience and build trust amid emerging risks.”
As I&M Group pioneers this transformative journey, its partnership with ThetaRay underscores a broader trend in African banking—embracing innovative technology to ensure secure, compliant, and scalable growth across the continent’s dynamic regulatory landscape.
