Almost two-and-a-half years along from First National Bank (FNB) advancing digital banking in SA with its banking app - and 600 000 local users down the line - the bank has expanded digital services into Africa.
One of SA's big four banks, FNB also has operations in seven sub-Saharan Africa countries: Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Tanzania and Mozambique.
This week, FNB, prompted by an ongoing drive to up cashless payments and electronic banking, launched its banking app and other digital services into these subsidiaries.
While the FNB Banking App is accessible to those with Apple, BlackBerry and Android smartphones, the .Mobi site works on all Internet-enabled phones, including feature phones.
Smartphone rise
Michael Kloeck, head of expansion at FNB Mobile and Connect, says global trends indicate apps and digital banking in Africa should not be ignored. While the smartphone penetration rate is not yet on par with the rest of the world, Kloeck says FNB foresees that, as supply increases and prices of smart devices continue to fall, "more people will have access to these devices to be able to transact using our digital channels". He says, ultimately, bringing digital banking to Africa is preparation for the future.
Simon Baker, telecoms analyst in charge of all IDC mobile phone research in the Middle East and Africa, points out that not only do feature phones of today have more data capabilities than ever before, but smartphone price points are continually dropping.
Research company ABI estimates low-cost smartphones will account for 44% of all smartphone shipments by 2018.
Kloeck says, despite the well-documented challenges Africa faces in terms of connectivity, the continent is "on the verge of a technology explosion".
According to the GSM Association (GSMA), Africa is the world's second-largest market by connections after Asia - and the fastest growing market in the world. Africa has an estimated 700 million subscribers and close to 400 million unique subscribers.
In terms of smartphones in Africa, Baker says this market will only grow substantially when prices reach a certain point. "Smartphones could come down to the $50 point within about the next four years. When they are available in this price range, we will see them serving the mass markets."
There are nearly seven billion mobile connections globally - a figure that is expected to rise to 9.7 billion by the end of 2017. The GSMA says sub-Saharan Africa includes seven of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world.
Leonard Haynes, chief operating officer for FNB Africa, says the bank's in-house app was designed with scalability and quick deployment into African territories in mind. "So this is the beginning of a long-term strategy."
FNB says it is also attempting to address the high cost of communication in Africa with value-added services attached to its main digital features - including Geopayment (introduced in SA last May) and FNB Connect services (text messages and calls between app users).
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