SA's first and currently only banking application from First National Bank (FNB) has seen immense activity, with transactional value reaching over R1.5 billion in just six months.
According to head of products and markets at FNB, Farren Roper, there are over 100 000 individual active clients registered with the FNB Banking App, which was launched on 20 July last year. He says this has far exceeded the bank's expectations.
Roper says that while apps, mobility and digital banking are largely a thing of the future, it is encouraging to see such notable results in the present.
Currently the only transactional banking app in the country, the FNB Banking App facilitates general banking functions, as well as supplementary services like location-based services and free calls and messaging from a smartphone or tablet device. The digital banking solution is available for free on the four main global operating systems - iOS, BlackBerry OS, Android and Symbian.
Roper says Apple devices are by far the most popular, constituting 49% of the app users, with BlackBerry devices second, making up 29% of clients, Android devices at 19% and Symbian at a marginal 3%.
He says the fact that over R1.5 billion worth of transactions have been seen in the short period since roll-out is unforeseen, and that number is still increasing at a rapid rate. “The FNB App is one of the most downloaded apps in SA. When we launched, it went straight to number one on the Apple App Store, and it is [still] regularly in the top 10 free apps in SA.” As at yesterday, the app was number one in the “Finance” category of free apps in SA.
The popularity of the app, says Roper, can be largely attributed to the convenience factor. “Having the banking app means that clients are walking around with a bank in their pocket. Clients get access to the interface that only an app can offer.” He says simplicity being key, the app is designed to be simple and intuitive.
FNB says it has a roadmap going forward that extends well into 2013. The app is bolstered with new features on a monthly business, says Roper, with a significant imminent addition on the horizon. “We are already looking ahead to the next wave of mobile payments. Another big launch on the app is imminent, but we are unable to elaborate further at this stage, except to say that contactless payments are a big focus.”
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