Banking Applications After the War: A Missing Competition

Sudanhorizon – Nazik Shammam
Throughout the three years in which the country has lived under the shadow of war, the digital application “Bankak”, operated by the Bank of Khartoum, has come to dominate the country’s economic and social life. Following the banking crisis, the destruction of bank premises, the looting of vaults, and the loss of resources in the capital, Khartoum, the situation was salvaged largely by the Bankak application, which facilitated financial transactions and helped sustain market purchasing activity.
The Sudanese banking sector suffered its largest losses since its establishment during the war. At least 100 bank branches were looted, and more than 38% of the funds of Khartoum’s banks were stolen. Banks also entered a severe liquidity crisis due to widespread acts of sabotage.
Despite these challenges, Bankak became deeply embedded in social life. The familiar “green notification” displayed by the application began to appear even at wedding ceremonies, where citizens used it to pay what is popularly known as “Sad al-Mal”—a customary financial contribution—after cash liquidity became scarce.
The application soon became the most widely used banking technology platform in Sudan. Although other applications exist, Bankak proved the most resilient during the early days of the war, raising questions about why other banking applications were unable to play a similar role.
The Role of Digital Applications
Dr Marwa Qabbani, an expert in strategic planning and digital transformation, explains that electronic applications have helped overcome many traditional obstacles, such as the geographical distance from bank branches, the complexity of opening bank accounts, and the high cost of cash transactions. As a result, financial services have become more accessible and inclusive for broad segments of society, particularly in rural areas and regions with limited banking services.
In an article published today on the Al-Muhaqqiq website, Qabbani noted that citizens increasingly turned to electronic services and digital wallets offered by financial companies licensed by the central bank. These include applications such as Kashi, CyberPay, and Bravo, among others, that provide innovative services supporting digital transformation and expanding financial inclusion for more than two million users.
She added:
“During the cash liquidity crisis, reliance on electronic banking applications became a primary option for conducting daily financial transactions. These applications helped reduce dependence on paper currency and strengthened confidence in digital payment methods.”
Qabbani also revealed that the use of bank cards, point-of-sale terminals, and electronic applications increased significantly. Before the outbreak of the war, the number of POS terminals in shops exceeded 3,500, while electronic payment transactions increased more than tenfold compared with earlier periods.
However, she pointed out that Sudan’s digital finance experience still faces several challenges, including weak financial inclusion, cash liquidity shortages, and limited geographical spread of bank branches.
Why Bankak Dominates
For his part, banking expert Walid Dalil believes that Bankak now dominates the majority of daily financial transactions in Sudan, surpassing its competitors by a wide margin.
He attributes this success to the fact that the application allows users to open entirely new bank accounts online using only the national identification number, which helped it spread widely among people who were not previously traditional bank customers.
Dalil explained to Al-Muhaqqiq that the application’s success stems from several factors:
Infrastructure and institutional legacy: The application is backed by the Bank of Khartoum, established in 1913, with a long institutional history.
Wide agent networks: The “Bankak Plus” agent network spreads across cities and villages.
Operational resilience: During the war, the application effectively became a lifeline for Sudanese citizens, continuing to provide money transfers and bill payment services even while physical branches were closed.
Another major advantage, according to Dalil, is the high financial limits permitted by the application. After recent adjustments, the daily transfer ceiling was raised to 15 million Sudanese pounds, with 3 million pounds per single transaction, a limit higher than that offered by most competing applications.
Challenges Facing the Application
Despite these advantages, the application also faces several challenges. These include technical disruptions, as the system occasionally experiences partial outages due to heavy transaction volumes or system updates.
There are also regulatory constraints, particularly after the Central Bank of Sudan issued a decision in July 2025 to suspend the “iBOK” service, which had been designed specifically for corporate clients.
Why Competitors Struggle
Dalil emphasised that Bankak’s dominance is largely due to early investment and technological leadership. The Bank of Khartoum was among the first Sudanese banks to invest heavily in digital infrastructure, giving it a large and early customer base.
By contrast, many other Sudanese banks face a competitive gap, largely due to delayed technological investment and outdated digital infrastructure, which results in slower and less responsive applications.
Developing a competitive application requires substantial investment in servers, cybersecurity systems, and technical infrastructure, something that some banks struggle to afford under current economic pressures.
In addition, the “network effect” plays a decisive role: customers prefer using the application that everyone else uses—traders, colleagues, and service providers—making it difficult for newer platforms to attract users.
Broader Challenges
Dalil also highlighted several broader challenges facing banking applications in Sudan, including:
Infrastructure problems, such as frequent internet outages and weak telecommunications networks.
Technical pressures, resulting from heavy server loads.
Security concerns, with growing customer complaints about unexplained withdrawals, prompting banks to intensify awareness campaigns against fraud.
Despite these obstacles, Sudan’s experience shows that digital banking applications have become an essential component of the country’s financial system—particularly during times of crisis—while raising important questions about competition, innovation, and the future of digital finance in Sudan.

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