First National Bank (FNB) has benefited from being the first to offer PayPal to South Africans, but other banks are pondering similar offerings.
FNB launched PayPal in March, in time for the Fifa Soccer World Cup. The exclusive deal between the bank and PayPal allows South Africans with FNB accounts to transact with over 81 million PayPal account-holders, in more than 190 markets around the world.
Chris Savides, GM of FNB Complementary Online Service, says the bank is “very pleased with the take-up, especially by small businesses”.
Savides says many accommodation and tourism businesses took advantage of PayPal during the World Cup; however, a broad spectrum of industries is embracing the money transfer system to grow their businesses globally.
He cannot disclose when the exclusivity period ends, but says that, even if other banks offer PayPal after the period ends, FNB has “first mover advantage” and an “intimate understanding... of the PayPal opportunity”.
PayPal has become a driver for people moving to FNB, says Savides. “We feel that FNB is perfectly positioned to offer South Africans a more compelling PayPal service. We are constantly looking at improving our service and adding additional functionality,” he adds.
Competitive offerings
Standard Bank director Herman Singh says the bank “regularly entertains engaging with partners in order to provide a better service to its clients”. Should PayPal aid it in providing better services, the bank would consider offering the service, he says.
Christo Vrey, managing executive for Absa Digital Channels, says “Absa is currently investigating a number of opportunities and these may include the likes of a PayPal-type solution”. He says the bank is looking into the economics and service implications of such an offering.
However, Carmen Whateley, Nedbank's executive for mobile and payments, says the bank has not seen an “overwhelming” demand for such a service from its clients.
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