The country's four major banks have embarked on a cellphone banking push, which is expected to yield a total of R650 million in combined transactions over the festive season.
Absa expects to see R400 million in cellphone transactions. Standard Bank and First National Bank say they hope see R100 million each; and Nedbank says it's pushing for R50 million in cellphone banking transactions.
"Cellphone banking will play an essential role this December. It is the cheapest, easiest and most convenient way for people to make payments, check balances or monitor banking activity," says Anthony Abbot, head of mobile channel at Standard Bank.
Lee Albertyn, product manager for cellphone banking at Nedbank, attributes the expected boom over the festive season to customers who will be away from home and their offices, and will need quick and convenient channels to access their bank accounts.
"Cellphone banking is about bringing banking to people wherever they are," he says.
Transaction generator
Absa spokesman Errol Smith says balance enquiries and prepaid top-ups are by far the most popular services when it comes to cellphone banking. "Cellphone banking is so convenient, it's like having a bank in your pocket," he says.
Len Pienaar, CEO of FNB's mobile and transact solutions, says cellphone banking has moved away from simply being a cost saving for banks, to being a new-transaction generator.
He says FNB expects 100 000 customers doing one or more transactions, with a million transactions expected to be done in December alone. Absa expects a 30% increase in the number of transactions in December, cumulating to 3.5 million transactions during the month.
Bridging the divide
According to research conducted by World Wide Worx, mobile banking has had 10% penetration among banked mobile consumers in its five years of existence, with two-thirds of cellphone users having a bank account.
Findings show usage of cellphone banking increases with age, but peaks in the 46 to 55 age group. The research shows there is higher cellphone banking usage among black people than whites. Male usage of cellphone banking is marginally higher than that of females.
Findings also show customers use cellphone banking to check bank balances, as well as make prepaid purchases.
Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, says cellphones have played a crucial role in decreasing the technological divide in SA because of the rapid manner in which the market has adopted this technology.
He adds that cellphone banking is the next logical step for people to access their bank details and make payments.
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