As more Standard Bank customers turn to online money transfers for their financial transactions, the bank has increased cash-out points nationwide to 15 000, including selected spaza shops.
Instant Money wallet receivers are now able to redeem their money at Pick n Pay, Shoprite, Usave, Checkers, House and Home, OK Furniture, as well as selected spaza shops countrywide.
The bank says this is in addition to Standard Bank’s established retail partner network comprising of Spar, Game, Builders Warehouse, Cambridge Food, Rhino Cash and Carry, and Makro.
Standard Bank’s Instant Money service is the equivalent of FNB’s eWallet or Absa’s CashSend offerings. It allows customers to send cash to anyone in SA with a cellphone number, for PIN-controlled cardless collection at any of the bank’s ATMs or retail partners.
Customers can access Instant Money through online banking, mobile app, cellphone banking, or at Standard Bank ATMs or retail partners.
“We want to create a future where our customers can just go down the street and not be required to commute to send or receive their money,” says Ethel Nyembe, head of card and payments at Standard Bank.
“Innovation and access to financial services is crucial for Standard Bank and that is why we have expanded our retailer footprint to offer our customers more options for using Instant Money, which is designed to make transactions faster and more convenient.
“The full range of Instant Money products − ranging from our business Bulk Payments solution, the personal Instant Money Wallet, to Instant Money Transfer on Standard Bank channels and retailers − offers a range of affordable, convenient and trusted solutions for those who need to send and receive money on the move.”
The latest development at Africa’s biggest lender by assets comes as a growing number of people are taking up digital banking and shunning the traditional brick-and-mortar branches.
South African banks have witnessed bolstered use of online and digital banking channels amid social distancing protocols because of the COVID-19 crisis.
Four of the country’s big retail banks say they have seen a spike in the use of digital wallets, contactless payments, mobile apps and USSD payments, to name a few services.
Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, local banks were already, in some way or another, prioritising digital banking solutions to keep up with the continuously evolving digital space.
Nyembe says: “By deliberately expanding our retail partner footprint for our Instant Money offering, we are able to bring this service to even more South Africans, safely and securely.
“As a result, more friends, loved ones, staff and customers who may not have access to traditional banking methods will now be empowered to send and receive money. We will continue to help our customers in ways that matter and make their lives easier, because when we believe it, we know that it can be.”
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