Nedbank has revamped its digital banking channel with the introduction of an enhanced cellphone banking service.
The service, which allows clients of the bank to do Internet banking on mobile phones, went live on 1 April.
The bank says Nedbank Cellphone Banking is a browser-based application relying on wireless application protocol (WAP) 2.0 technology.
To use the service, clients need a digital banking profile and a phone with GPRS, EDGE or 3G capability.
"The enhancement in our cellphone banking offering reflects the evolution of technology and handsets that has taken place since 2000 when we became the first South African bank to offer cellphone banking using WAP technology," says Saks Ntombela, MD of Nedbank Retail Product Solutions.
Nedbank spokesman Roshelle Pillay says the original service launched in 2000 continued to operate, but was "dependent on handsets".
"We have very few people now that started out on that service, which was called NedMobile," she says, adding that the enhancement took a long time to develop as the bank wanted to ensure the new service was network-independent.
Ntombela says the surge in cellphone use has changed the landscape, with consumers now more technology literate and more inclined to use digital channels as an alternative to branch-based banking.
He adds that browser-based banking is the most cost-effective of all cellphone banking applications. While SMS has per-message costs, with GPRS, for example, costs are based on the amount of data downloaded per screen.
"To further enhance the cost-effectiveness of Nedbank Cellphone Banking, we have decided to minimise the use of graphics and logo screen designs, which will improve response time."
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