The digital-only bank becomes the latest financial institution to introduce a virtual bank card to offer clients safety and convenience for transactions.

In the new Banking Sentiment Index, Nedbank and African Bank emerge as the most responsive, while Discovery Bank is the worst at responding to customer queries.

The digital-only bank bills itself as the first bank in SA to charge zero fees for EFT payments and the first to offer free debit order services.

SA’s newest digital-only bank, Bank Zero, is appointed as a restricted authorised dealer in forex exchange by the South African Reserve Bank.

South Africa’s latest digital-only bank confirms it will be open to the public before the end of the year, with financial backing from seven investors.

The digital bank says it has 489 000 clients as of 13 September, versus 370 000 accounts at the end of June.

The new kid on the banking block now has two million customers − a target reached five months ahead of the bank’s plans.

The digital banks report an upswing in on-boarding new customers, as more consumers look to branchless banking channels for their financial services.

The bank says overall credit utilisation declined during the lockdown and arrears, including non-performing loans, are still within expectation.

The digital bank now has 1.4 million customers, of which 700 000 are active bank accounts

The bank’s half-year results show total credit card spend was R2.6 billion and total credit limits granted sat at R2.5 billion.

The bank enters the final phase before launching next year and says it has already put safety nets on fraud and attacks.