The local banking sector has seen a number of steps forward this year, with mobile money, mobile payments and Internet-enabled services gaining ground - plus innovations like local start-up thumbzup's Payment Pebble and Payment Blade coming to market.
Analysts say the use of big data to refine the targeting of specific services to customers and the expansion of telecoms services by banks licensed for them, like First National Bank (FNB), could be the "big things" in banking in 2015.
The financial services industry has been tagged a prime sector - both locally and abroad - for technological innovation. BMI-TechKnowledge director Brian Neilson says SA's banks lead in just about every area when it comes to innovation on a global basis.
ICT expert Adrian Schofield says FNB appears to be at the top of the local innovation game, "but that may be due to the power of their marketing". Neilson tags Absa (by merit of thumbzup's Payment Pebble) and Nedbank (which has won a number of innovation awards and this year introduced the PocketPOS) as top contenders.
Looking forward
From SA's banks' point of view, 2014 been a big year for technology innovation. Vuyo Mpako, head of innovation and channel design at Standard Bank, says, with the introduction of SnapScan, MasterPass and InstantMoney, the institution has "made great strides to changing the way banking is done and accelerating the move to becoming a cashless society".
Mpako says 2014 has seen more focus on technology than ever before. "The nature of how customers are engaging with banks is changing significantly as mobile devices have become ubiquitous. These tools are an extension of people's lifestyles, and as banking is a part of everyday life, it is imperative for Standard Bank to have a pivotal place in that world."
Going into 2015, he says, Standard Bank will continue to invest and introduce customer-centric solutions like the SnapScan. "Collaboration and crowdsourcing is going to play a vital role in our strategy."
Nedbank says its focus on building enterprise technology capabilities that can be leveraged across the organisation, and the rollout of its 'Branch of the Future' model have been two of its key focuses this year.
It says the criterion that defines 2014 for Nedbank, however, was not a piece of technology, but rather "the active collaboration practices that we have adopted as a group, collaboration across our organisation and with our clients and partners to design and deliver a one-Nedbank experience".
Nedbank's focus into the new year "will remain on technologies that deliver solutions that are convenient, personal and secure in pursuit of our group's strategic agenda", says the bank. "This will be underpinned by our continued focus on simplifying our landscape."
Innovation focus
In July, SA's fast-growing newcomer - retail bank for individuals Capitec - announced the launch of its mobile banking app. The bank, which had 5.4 million customers as of 28 February, prides itself on offering "affordable, simplified and transparent banking" - a goal it says it targets "using innovative technology".
Capitec recently launched a money management tool embedded in its banking app. The tool allows for real-time money management - meaning customers can track their recurring debits and daily expenses against their monthly salary deposits.
Charl Nel, Capitec's head of strategic communication, notes the bank decided to initially launch its app for mobile only, because "our interim focus is on mobile as we believe the cellphone is the primary gadget that is always with the user, unlike the tablet which is commonly used for Internet banking".
In April, SA's biggest bank by customer number, Absa, announced plans to become a fully digital financial services provider, focusing on technology-driven initiatives. At the time, the bank's head of retail banking, Arrie Rautenbach, said the bank had optimised its branch processes to move towards a paperless environment.
FNB - largely seen as one of SA's first-movers when it comes to innovation - in October honoured employees who had implemented and driven innovation at the bank during 2014. A R1.5 million prize was awarded to the winning team for the implementation of Big3 - a tool that leverages analytics to proactively offer FNB customers with products and services the bank deems they would likely need.
S'onqoba Maseko, head of FNB innovations, says innovation is part of the bank's DNA. "Banking and financial services as an industry, is ripe for further innovation. Technology continues to disrupt and regulatory changes challenge all banks to think outside the box in an effort to find the most efficient solutions."