The "soft" introduction of Standard Bank`s mobile banking service during the past month belies the potential of the market as almost a quarter of the country`s population has a cellphone.
Already 6 500 subscribers have signed up for Standard Bank`s mobile service as they look to do some of their banking on the move, rather than having to go into a branch, queue at an ATM or experience the frustration of slow Internet access.
There has not been any big bang launch of the service - no TV advertisements or pamphlets being distributed. Rather Standard Bank has taken the approach of playing its cards close to its chest as it first tests the waters of the mobile market.
Herman Singh, director of Standard Bank online banking services, says the introduction of the service is part of an overall strategy whereby customers can use a number of routes to access accounts, carry out transactions and buy various banking products such as unit trusts.
"This is part of our strategy that we have termed 'customerisation` - that means our clients have the option of just where and what access route to the banking system they want to use at specific times.
He says some customers may want to do their monthly payments over the Internet, while some are done via stop-orders. Other specific transactions such as cash withdrawals can be conducted at an ATM and then the cellphone service can be used to update balances and check credit card limits.
"The point is that a customer can choose just how and when a transaction should be conducted."
Singh says Standard Bank has the software management flexibility to manage all the different routes due to its "Blue Core" software, whereby all the bank`s systems run off a one-core piece of software that has set parameters. This allows a host of applications, including payment systems, to be developed quickly and cost-effectively.
The potential size and profitability of this market is unknown, but it could attract many of the "unbanked" population who may be hesitant to use traditional branches and do not have access to the Internet.
Joan Joffe, Vodacom group executive of corporate affairs, says there are more than 11 million cellular phone subscribers in SA. "About 90% are prepaid and while one can safely assume that all those with contracts are banked, it is unknown just how many of the prepaid subscribers are unbanked."
Joffe says Vodacom and Standard Bank have been jointly working on various projects that cross the divide between banking services and cellphones, including the sale of airtime through ATMs.
Singh says the size of the cellphone market in SA makes it a key route for banking services. "This country has been phenomenal in the use of cellphones to do all sorts of things, including the running of businesses. In fact, in many ways we have surpassed many other more developed countries in terms of functionality."
Share
