First National Bank (FNB) says payments made via its FNB Pay mobile digital wallet service surpass R1 billion each month, as customers increasingly prefer making contactless payments via their smart devices.
According to a statement, the FNB tap and scan-to-pay feature, which can be linked to the FNB Virtual Card, has increased by more than 800% year-on-year in volume.
The big-four bank has over the past year been signing partnership deals with major QR code providers in SA, to integrate their scan-to-pay feature on its banking app. These include Samsung Pay, Apple Pay,Garmin Pay, FitBit Pay and SnapScan.
"Smart devices are critical to driving a culture of contactless payments around the world and with the increasing adoption figures that we’ve seen from our customers, we would like to commend them for opting to use these safer payment options," says Raj Makanjee, CEO of FNB Retail.
“We've been expanding the number of third-party digital wallets supported by FNB Pay as part of our efforts to accelerate the adoption of safer and convenient payment alternatives. The rapid growth in customer adoption complements the use of our more than 10 million contactless physical cards currently in circulation.”
Since the onset of COVID-19, digital wallet players have reported an increase in the use of their services, as more South Africans turn to mobile wallets to deal with constraints posed by the pandemic.
As per the latest World Bank report, the digital wallet industry moves over $600 billion around the world, with $466 billion being sent to low- and middle-income countries.
Digital remittances are expected to increase by 27% in 2022, to reach nearly $18 billion, according to research firm Fact.MR's latest report.
FNB says its decision to allow customers the ability to link their FNB Virtual Cards to FNB Pay-supported wallets offered them more convenience, reward benefits and enhanced security for a seamless payments experience at merchants.
Over three million FNB Virtual Cards have been activated since the launch in 2021.
“The FNB Virtual Card is more than 40 times less likely to expose customers to the risk of fraud, with features like the dynamic CVV number that changes regularly to minimise chances of fraud when transacting,” says Chris Labuschagne, CEO of FNB Card.
“Our Virtual Cards are also increasingly preferred for e-commerce online purchases, subscription payments and QR payments via scan-to-pay on the FNB app,” he adds.
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