SA cellphone banking matures

Johannesburg, 21 Nov 2007

The penetration of cellphone banking in SA more than doubled in the last year and is expected to increase even further in the coming year. This is according to findings from the World Wide Worx Mobility 2007 research study.

Seventeen percent of urban respondents surveyed said they had used their cellphones for banking services, compared to only 8% of respondents surveyed in 2006. An additional 24% of cellphone users said they would start using cellphone banking in 2008.

Len Pienaar, head of FNB Mobile and Transact Solutions, says the bank`s own research findings uncovered a similar growth pattern on a national level.

"The South African cellphone banking market is starting to show signs of maturity. Cellphone banking has been adopted across all market segments. Our latest figures show that its usage is accelerating and that it is the most used electronic banking channel among FNB customers in the mainstream market."

Piennar adds that FNB`s primary focus has been to create a platform that makes it simple to register, easy to use, is secure and affordable to access. He explains that by doing this, the bank is attempting to turn the improved market awareness of cellphone banking into customer behaviour that embraces it as a convenient banking channel.

The report shows the likelihood of using cellphones for banking services increases with age, in contrast to the usage of most advanced cellphone functions going down as users get older. According to the report, urban cellphone users aged from 46 to 55 years are twice as likely to use cellphones for banking as those in the 19 to 24 age group.

Peter Searll, CEO of Dashboard Research, who led the fieldwork for the consumer research on behalf of World Wide Worx, says the more economically able consumer would be more likely to embrace most forms of financial service. This is backed up by the fact that, after 55, people are less likely to use cellphone banking, he adds.

The report also showed that there is a substantial difference in cellphone banking usage across the regions. Gauteng residents, it states, are the most likely to use the channel, as well as the most likely to adopt it in the future.

Adoption by the different genders was also investigated. According to the report, in 2007, cellphone banking was dominated by men: 20% of male respondents as opposed to 15% of female respondents have already used the channel. However, in 2008 the numbers will begin balancing out, with the same proportion of men as women intending to take it up, says the report.