Big four bank First National Bank (FNB) has extended the scope of its banking app by adding its mobile instant money transfer service, eWallet, to the menu.
The bank yesterday announced its customers can now send money to eWallets from the FNB Banking App. With this new functionality, app users can send money instantly to any cellphone number in SA.
FNB says both the app and the eWallet have proven to be popular. “Since [the launch of eWallet in 2009] over one million eWallets have been created, with average daily sends amounting to R3 million and total transactions amounting to over R1.8 billion.”
According to FNB, the banking app has seen the user base increase rapidly, to more than 170 000 users who have signed up since July 2011, with total transactions amounting to more than R4 billion.
Further functionality
According to FNB, when money is sent to an eWallet from the app, funds are transferred instantly and the recipient receives an SMS indicating money has been sent to their cellphone.
“The recipient is then able to access cash immediately at FNB ATMs, buy prepaid airtime or electricity, send money to another cellphone, purchase or get cash at selected retailers and make once-off payments.”
FNB says the move to add eWallet to its app was prompted, in part, by findings from its internal analysis, which shows that many eWallet users have technological know-how, and either own a smartphone or a tablet or both.
Yolande van Wyk, CEO of eWallet solutions at FNB, says the latest app addition is expected to further “drive the popularity [the bank] has seen through other channels such as online and cellphone banking”.
A new addition to the eWallet functionality, says FNB, is that of access to customers' premier banker. Customers can now use the service to identify and access their premier banker by making a call or sending a message, free of charge, from the app.
Product owner for the FNB Banking App, Giuseppe Virgillito, says calls and messages between clients and the bank are free with the new premier banking functionality.
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