Dyer & Blair Investment Bank has unveiled a mobile app for stock trading which allows retail investors to buy and sell shares from the comfort of their smartphones.

The investment bank, owned by billionaire Jimnah Mbaru, has developed an Android app dubbed ‘Edge’ that removes the hassle of queuing at branches to execute trades, check the status of deals and view statements.

“You can monitor your stock watch list, execute trades and check your account balances and holdings directly from your Android device,” Dyer &Blair said in a note to customers.

Investors can deposit cash to their accounts via M-Pesa and make share purchases via the ‘Edge’ app, making it convenient for young and tech savvy investors.

Dyer and Blair is banking on the mobile app to grow trading income by enhancing the ease of trading and attracting new customers and retaining existing clients.

Rival SBG Securities last month announced plans to launch a new version of its mobile-based share trading platform dubbed iTrader.

“We want to leverage on digital channels such as mobile trading to grow market share,” SBG Securities chief executive Nkoregamba Mwebesa said in an earlier interview.

Investment banks and brokers are increasingly turning to technology to cut operational costs and spur trade. A quarter or 26 per cent of Kenya’s adult population owns a smartphone or other smart devices.