Absa cellphone banking on the rise

September 13, 2011 12:04 pm 0 comments

Share this Article

Author:

pf print icon Absa cellphone banking on the rise Print pf pdf icon Absa cellphone banking on the rise PDF

Absa has announced a 65% year-on-year increase in financial transactions made on its three cellphone banking offerings.

“Cellphone banking adoption continues to beat expectations. In 2011, we will see transaction values of about R10 billion transferred via the mobile channels. With a wide range of transactional and enquiry services that are now available via cellphone banking, more customers every day are realising the convenience, simplicity and cost-effectiveness of banking on their phones,” says Absa Retail Bank chief executive, Gavin Opperman.

He adds that the bank has signed up its three millionth cellphone banking user this week.

Opperman believes that recent cellphone banking innovations, like enabling customers to apply for and receive a loan in just 10 minutes for instance, will continue to drive further migration to this channel.

We expect this momentum to continue. Our recently announced agreement with Vodacom means that customers do not have to use any airtime to access our cellphone banking Lite service. No matter where they are, customers will be able to easily recharge their funds even if they are completely out of airtime,” explains Opperman.

The domestic money transfer service CashSend, and the international version, Western Union money transfer, have also proven to be extremely successful with Absa’s cellphone banking customers.

More than a third of all CashSend transactions are conducted via cellphone banking.

The average number of monthly CashSend transactions that are made via cellphone banking has risen by 500% from last year, to over 37 000 per month. CashSend is a truly game-changing innovation,” says Opperman.

From wherever you may be, customers can make an instant payment to anyone in South Africa, irrespective of whether they have a bank account or not - as long as they have a cellphone number.”

Drawing on Absa’s large footprint of almost 6 000 ATMs, it is both easy and convenient for the recipient to access these funds at their nearest ATM.

Absa has recently enhanced CashSend to allow small business owners to instantly make multiple CashSend payments to a number of staff members, with one simple transaction. This innovation significantly reduces the risks associated with carrying large sums of cash in order to pay weekly wages or monthly salaries.

Although the bank currently boasts 3 million Cellphone Banking customers, the total number of customers interacting with Absa on the mobile channel exceeds 7 million.

“This is the number of customers registered for the SMS alert service, NotifyMe. This handy tool is now nearing a 70% penetration rate in terms of our total base of active transactional customers.”

Absa sends over 58 million NotifyMe messages every month. Statistics also show a 25% increase in the number of businesses using cellphone banking to better control their companies’ finances.

“The seamless integration between one’s Business Internet Banking service, and one’s business cellphone banking service makes the mobile phone a very useful tool for business owners and managers who are always on the move,” says Opperman.

Talkback - Tell Us What You Think


Other News

  • Opinion

    Pick me, pick me

    Print PDF

    Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: We have either seen the movie, or experienced the scenario ourselves.  Standing amongst a large group of friends, school mates or even at the community braai, we wait in anticipation for someone to pick us for their team.  Sadly, there are always a few kids that get left out, banished to the side-lines with the task of dispensing oranges at half time (never mind, if you do your research you will find [...]

    Read more →
  • Mobile FNB App available on Nokia

    FNB App available on Nokia

    Print PDF

    Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: Two months after the introduction of their smartphone and tablet Banking Application, First National Bank (FNB) has announced that the App is now also available on Nokia Symbian smartphones – making the App available on all major operating systems. FNB clients who have Nokia Symbian touchscreen phones are now able to download the FNB App for free from the Nokia OVI Store. The App, which was designed and built in-house by FNB, [...]

    Read more →
  • Mobile

    Govt to explore social media communications

    Print PDF

    Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: Social media will become a key communication tool, as governments search for ways to improve ICT access to citizens, says the Department of Communications (DOC). Speaking at the Pan African Conference on access to information in Cape Town, deputy Communications minister, Obed Bapela, noted the growth in the use of social networks. According to Bapela the majority of citizens in African countries are using various social media networks and governments needed to explore ways [...]

    Read more →
  • Internet

    Phishing attacks on the rise

    Print PDF

    Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: As phishing fraud is expected to escalate towards the end of the year - Absa has urged its customers to become increasingly vigilant so they do not become victims of attempted phishing attacks.  “Bank customers should educate themselves about the modus operandi of fraudsters and adopt safe online banking practices in order to avoid falling prey to phishing scams,” says Gavin Opperman, CE of Absa Retail Bank. “Phishing is done via SMS, email or [...]

    Read more →
  • Mobile

    8.ta prepaid available via Nedbank

    Print PDF

    Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: 8.ta has entered into a partnership with Nedbank that allows for 8.ta’s airtime to be purchased from the bank’s online banking channel. This move forms part of efforts by the country’s fourth mobile operator to expand its distribution channels to provide convenience and greater reach to the local prepaid market. “With this partnership, all Nedbank and 8.ta customers can now enjoy the convenience of accessing airtime anytime of the day from as [...]

    Read more →
  • Opinion

    SMS recruitment levels the playing field

    Print PDF

    Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: SMS has shown its ability to act as a catalyst for social change time and time again. From farming, to healthcare, to education and banking, the ease with which information can be accessed and shared via SMS has levelled the playing fields for marginalised members of society around the world. Increasingly this applies to employment as well. With the addition of SMS as a recruitment channel, candidates without internet access – especially [...]

    Read more →
  • Internet

    Schools get tech boost

    Print PDF

    Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: Prefix Technologies has announced that it will supply its bulk email software, pMailer, free to all schools. This means that parents can nominate any school to receive a pMailer account with 6 000 free email credits per month for an unlimited period.   “Prefix Technologies is also subsidising use of pMailer’s SMS communication tool at a flat rate of 20c per SMS, no matter how many text messages are sent to parents,” [...]

    Read more →
  • Opinion

    Cloud computing vs virtualisation

    Print PDF

    Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: In today’s marketplace, customers require flexible infrastructures and solutions that can rapidly adjust to meet their changing business needs. Both cloud computing, the mechanism that delivers services, and virtualisation, the key enabling technology, provide customers with exactly that: increasing business agility through the efficient use of resources, whether they be monetary or IT related. Virtualisation is ultimately about making the best use of technology assets. The key to reaping the rewards and [...]

    Read more →
  • Mobile 30 000 devices connect to FNB banking App

    30 000 devices connect to FNB banking App

    Print PDF

    Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: Two months since it was first introduced, FNB‘s Banking App has seen close to 30 000 paired devices. According to FNB, the App now averages more than 500 downloads per day – a number which is expected to increase. “The number of downloads since launch has exceeded our expectations. We would like to think that this has been fuelled mostly by positive customer word of mouth. We have more than R160 million [...]

    Read more →
  • Mobile

    Absa cellphone banking on the rise

    Print PDF

    Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: Absa has announced a 65% year-on-year increase in financial transactions made on its three cellphone banking offerings. “Cellphone banking adoption continues to beat expectations. In 2011, we will see transaction values of about R10 billion transferred via the mobile channels. With a wide range of transactional and enquiry services that are now available via cellphone banking, more customers every day are realising the convenience, simplicity and cost-effectiveness of banking on their phones,” [...]

    Read more →
  • « Previous Page  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11   Next Page »
Feedback

SA IT NEWS Feedback

We appreciate any and all feedback about our site; praise, ideas, bug reports you name it!