Sudanese Banks and the Post-War Opportunity: Can We Turn a Cash-Based Economy into a Digital One?

Dr. Marwa Fouad Qabbani

In a Sudanese economy battered by war, inflation, and market instability, the question is no longer whether we need electronic banking services. The more pressing question has become: Why are Sudanese banks not investing quickly enough in attracting customers and turning the needs created by post-war conditions into a strategic opportunity to build an economy that is less dependent on cash?

Sudan is now facing an exceptional economic and banking moment. High inflation has weakened purchasing power and made cash transactions more costly and risky, while the war has disrupted large parts of the traditional banking infrastructure, pushing citizens to seek alternative ways to transfer and receive money and pay for their daily needs.

The importance of digital transformation is growing amid an extremely challenging inflationary environment. Inflation in Sudan rose to around 170% during 2024, according to data cited by the World Bank, while the International Monetary Fund expects consumer price inflation to reach approximately 75.1% in 2026.

In such an environment, the speed at which money circulates, ease of access to funds, reduced risks associated with carrying cash, and the availability of secure payment methods become essential elements in protecting economic activity rather than simply technological luxuries.

37 Banks… and a Banking Market Searching for the Digital Customer

According to the list of operating banks published by the Central Bank of Sudan, the banking system currently comprises 37 banks. In February 2026, the central bank also issued a new capital regulation classifying banks as commercial, specialized, and digital, and set a minimum paid-up capital requirement of 140 billion Sudanese pounds for digital banks. This confirms that digitalization has become part of the regulatory vision for the future of the banking sector.

This raises an important question: If we have this many banks, why are we not seeing greater competition for the digital customer?

Banking competition in the next phase should not be measured solely by the number of branches or ATMs, but also by the number of digitally active customers, the volume of electronic transactions, the value of digital payments, the number of merchants accepting electronic payments, and customers’ satisfaction with banking applications and digital services.

According to the published data that could be accessed, there is no unified official statistic specifying the number of active banking applications across all Sudanese banks or the number of users of each application. This is, in itself, an information gap that needs to be addressed, because measuring digital transformation requires regularly published indicators.

More Than 100 Million Electronic Transactions… The Figure Banks Should Pay Attention To

The available figures from Electronic Banking Services (EBS) provide an important indication of changing user behavior. The company announced that more than 100 million account-to-account (A2A) electronic transfer transactions were carried out between January and May 2026, alongside efforts to restore the national switch and the comprehensive settlement system. It also indicated that its infrastructure connects 26 banks inside Sudan.

These figures do not merely indicate the success of the infrastructure. They carry a broader economic and banking message:

There is genuine demand for electronic transactions. Therefore, the opportunity is no longer about proving that citizens can use digital services; it is about banks competing to make such use a daily part of the customer’s life.

So where is the problem?

Is it in marketing departments?

Is it weak vision among executive management?

Is it the high cost of marketing?

Is it a shortage of qualified personnel?

Or is it that some electronic banking applications and services are not attractive enough?

In my view, the problem does not lie in a single factor. Rather, it reflects a comprehensive strategic gap. Some banks may still view a banking application as a “technology product” provided by the information technology department, whereas it should be a primary banking channel and a platform for managing the relationship with the customer.

This difference in thinking changes everything. If the application is merely a technology product, its success is measured by whether it works. But if it is a strategic banking channel, its success is measured by the number of active customers, the number of transactions, the value of transactions, customer retention rates, and the percentage of customers shifting from branches to digital channels.

Banking Marketing Needs a Radical Change

It is not enough for banks to tell customers, “Download the app.” Customers want to know: What will I gain from it?

Can I transfer money easily?

Can I pay for my purchases?

Can I send and receive money without carrying cash?

Does the service work when internet connectivity is weak?

Can I access the service through a traditional mobile phone?

This is where expanding simplified channels becomes important. In March 2026, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Communications announced the availability of banking services through USSD in coordination with the Central Bank of Sudan, allowing users to conduct person-to-person transfers, check balances, and perform certain transactions without requiring a conventional internet connection.

This is an important step because digital transformation in Sudan should not be synonymous exclusively with smartphones and applications.

True digital transformation means making services accessible to customers regardless of their technological circumstances.

From a Banking Application to a Digital Economic Ecosystem

An application alone will not solve the problem. What is needed is an integrated ecosystem:

Bank account → Application or USSD → Electronic transfer → Merchant → POS or QR → Electronic settlement.

If citizens can transfer money through an application but cannot find a merchant who accepts electronic payments when they reach the marketplace, they will return to cash.

Therefore, a significant portion of banks’ marketing budgets should shift from advertising the application to building a network that accepts digital services.

Banks can compete here to attract merchants, pharmacies, hospitals, fuel stations, schools, universities, transport companies, retailers, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Inflation Makes Digital Transformation a Necessity, Not a Luxury

In an inflationary environment, electronic payments should not be viewed merely as a matter of convenience. The faster and more efficiently money moves, the more capable the economy becomes of maintaining activity, while citizens become less dependent on holding large amounts of cash.

A digital economy also gives banks greater opportunities to understand the movement of money and customer behavior, develop more suitable products, improve risk management, and strengthen financial inclusion.

Therefore, currency replacement and the restructuring of the banking sector should not be viewed as issues separate from digital transformation. Rather, the currency replacement process could serve as a strategic transition point from an economy heavily dependent on cash to one in which electronic payments and transfers are increasingly widespread.

What Banks Need to Do Now

I believe every bank needs to develop a 12-month digital strategy with measurable targets, most importantly:

1. Identify the number of customers targeted for conversion into digital customers.
2. Increase the number of monthly electronic transactions.
3. Reduce customers’ reliance on branches for basic transactions.
4. Expand the network of merchants and electronic payment acceptance points.
5. Develop simpler and more stable applications.
6. Provide alternatives such as USSD for customers who cannot regularly access the internet.
7. Use customer data for smart marketing.
8. Develop digital customer service.
9. Invest in cybersecurity and account protection.
10. Directly link digital transformation indicators to executive management performance.

Most importantly, results should be measured on a monthly basis.

The Coming Competition Is Not About Branches

Banking competition in post-war Sudan will not be solely about which bank can reopen its branches the fastest. It will also be about which bank can secure the digital relationship with the customer.

The bank that enables customers to receive their money, transfer funds, pay their obligations, make purchases, and monitor their accounts without having to carry cash or visit a branch will be better positioned to build a long-term banking relationship.

This is not about technology alone. It is about executive vision, marketing, human resources, customer experience, merchants, infrastructure, security, and regulation.

Sudan currently has important indicators suggesting the possibility of moving into a new phase. There are dozens of banks, a national payments infrastructure, millions of electronic transactions, expanding digital channels, and a clear regulatory direction toward digital banking. But the real challenge is to turn this infrastructure into a daily financial behavior among citizens.

Therefore, the question bank management teams should be asking is not: How much have we spent on marketing?

It is: How many new customers have we attracted digitally? How many cash transactions have we converted into electronic transactions? And how many merchants have begun accepting digital payments?

If banks can answer these questions with numbers, then we will have genuinely begun building post-war banking. But if the application remains merely an icon on the customer’s phone while branches remain the primary center of activity, the opportunity for digital transformation will continue to exceed the sector’s ability to capitalize on it.

The next phase does not merely require banks to restore their services. It requires banks to redefine banking services themselves.