More Standard Bank customers are turning to online money transfers for their financial transactions, the bank has revealed.
This as the bank has had to shut down 104 branches this year, in a bid to ramp up its digitising efforts.
According to Standard Bank, it is seeing a month-on-month increase of 70 000 new customers using the Instant Money service. Furthermore, transaction volumes are climbing steadily at 20% year-on-year, while transactional values are seeing a 26% increase year-on-year.
Nelisa Zulu, head of merchant solutions at Standard Bank, says the increased uptake of mobile money transfer services shows South Africans, including those without formal bank accounts, are becoming comfortable with digital banking services.
“We are finding that Instant Money is particularly popular with people living in cities who wish to transfer money to family members in rural areas. Money can be sent and collected at Standard Bank ATMs or other designated collection points within most communities. This makes it more convenient than other forms of payment in the country, which take time to be complete.”
Standard Bank’s Instant Money service is the equivalent of First National Bank’s (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,
Africa’s biggest lender by assets says its money transfer service is offered at more than 6 500 access points across the country. KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape are the biggest recipients of Instant Money vouchers.
More than R60 billion has been processed since Instant Money’s inception, according to the bank.
Zulu adds: “We are also seeing a big increase in Instant Money for businesses, with annual growth of over 100%. Bulk Instant Money allows businesses of any size to disburse funds through the Instant Money platform to any person in real-time.
“Recipients don’t need a bank account and can collect their funds at a date and time of their convenience. We have examples where businesses had payment challenges and, at short notice, had to pay more than 2 000 employees. Instant Money Bulk payments were utilised to facilitate this transfer of funds.”
Meanwhile, Capitec has “quietly” launched a new version of its mobile app.
Business Insider SA reports this is the “first major upgrade to the application since the bank launched in the early 2000s”. The report adds that not all Capitec clients have been alerted to the upgrade.
According to the report, the old app will continue to function until such time when the “new one is activated”.
In June, Capitec and FNB were declared the banks with the best digital banking platforms in SA.
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