Absa gets its million

By Leon Engelbrecht, ITWeb senior writer

Johannesburg, 28 Jul 2008

Big-four retail bank Absa has just become the first in SA to reach one million Internet banking users.

Absa launched an Internet banking service as early as 1996 and became a virtual Internet service provider to clients and the public at large in 2001, in a successful bid to build out its online client base.

Absa group chief executive Steve Booysen has hailed the event as a "significant milestone" and says he is delighted so many clients have come to recognise the convenience and security of electronic banking.

"We have made substantial investments in innovation, to ensure our customers enjoy state-of-the-art Internet and cellphone banking facilities that are available anywhere, any time," he adds.

Absa executive director of Retail Banking Alfie Naidoo says the growth in the number of online users has accelerated sharply in recent months. "Evidently, customers enjoy the speed, convenience and control they have with Internet banking," he says.

Booysen adds that they also stand to make "significant savings in bank charges and fees".

The value of transactions processed has also escalated. "In the past 12 months, the total value of the transactions processed by our Internet banking service is over R660 billion," continues Naidoo.

In addition to retail clients, business has also started adopting Internet banking en masse. Naidoo says Absa now has over 150 000 small businesses routinely using its business Internet banking service.