CellC contracts available through FNB
First National Bank is offering its customers cellphone contracts with handsets at subsidised rates, in conjunction with Cell C.
The cellphone contracts are offered through the existing account opening process where the branch systems have been integrated with Cell C’s retail systems.
“This is yet another first from FNB and is in line with our philosophy of using innovation to add convenience and value to our customers’ lives. Customers will know instantly if they qualify for a cellphone contract. No additional paperwork is required and the cellphone application process is completed in a few minutes,” says Ravesh Ramlakan, CEO of FNB Cellphone Banking Solutions.
“We put in place an initiative that will enable us to create an environment where our customers will not only be able open a bank account but also take out a cellphone contract with a quality handset,” says James Fowle, CEO of FNB Smart Transactional Banking.
Customers who open an FNB Smart Account in any FNB branch can qualify to enter into an exclusive Control Chat cellphone package from as little as R39 per month which includes a handset, monthly airtime and SMSs. In addition, customers will have the budget control of prepaid i.e. when they run out of their monthly airtime they can conveniently recharge instantly - using FNB’s cellphone banking offering.
Currently in South Africa, pre-paid users make up around 85 percent of the market; according to the Nielsen Telecom Survey. 25 percent of these users are likely to switch from pre-paid to contract packages within the next year. More than half (52%) of South African cellphone users own Nokia handsets, followed by Samsung and BlackBerry, and 56 percent of those currently using other brands indicated their next handset would likely be a Nokia.
“With this offer, our customers will not only have access to high quality handsets at affordable prices, but will also have a platform to perform their everyday banking using our Cellphone Banking offering, providing our customers with access to a low cost and convenient banking offering,” Fowle concludes.
“Cell C’s tenant of innovation fits ideally into a partnership with one of the country’s most innovative banks. FNB’s pioneering of technology and banking goes hand in hand with Cell C’s push to bring affordable communications to South Africans,” says Sue Kennedy, Cell C’s executive head of Sales and Distribution.