FNB is growing its contactless ecosystem by becoming the first bank in SA to offer consumers 'Tap and PIN' on ATM transactions, says the bank.
The bank says the innovation allows consumers to safely tap their contactless card on the contactless reader of an eligible FNB ATM and enter a PIN to complete the transaction without having to insert their bank card.
This functionality is currently available across 100 FNB ATMs and more will be upgraded during 2019.
The bank estimates that ATM 'Tap and PIN' will reduce the time it takes to make a withdrawal by up to 20 seconds per transaction.
In addition to the convenience, it notes that FNB customers will also enjoy further protection against card skimming devices by not having to insert their card for a withdrawal.
Raj Makanjee, CEO of FNB Retail, says this is a major step in the bank's plans to continuously improve the convenience and safety of its banking ecosystem.
He says technologies such as contactless provide opportunities to streamline interactions to align with the needs of consumers.
"In the last three years, consumers have processed approximately R1 billion worth of contactless payments from five million transactions on FNB-issued credit and debit cards alone. The frequency of use by consumers has grown by between 100% and 300% on our credit and debit cards respectively, highlighting the confidence of our customers in adopting new and secure payment methods. Having started issuing contactless cards three years ago, we now have over 8.5 million contactless enabled debit and credit cards in the hands of consumers," says Makanjee.
Consumers' appetite for contactless payments is equally reflected in FNB's digital payments stream which includes FNB Pay on the FNB App as well as FitBit Pay and Garmin Pay, the bank says.
It adds that FNB Pay processes an average of 700 contactless transactions per day while more than R1.5 million worth of contactless transactions were processed on FitBit Pay and Garmin Pay in the last two months.
"Contactless payments offer substantial benefits in an era where consumers and retailers want to avoid long queues. From an FNB point of view, we are creating an enabling ecosystem for retailers to match consumer appetite by improving the contactless acceptance footprint in the Retail environment," concludes Makanjee.