Purchasing prepaid electricity via FNB Cellphone Banking is growing in popularity as customers begin to see the benefit of using FNB’s self-service channels for these types of transactions.
62% of all prepaid electricity purchases processed by FNB are made on Cellphone Banking. Prepaid electricity purchases via FNB Cellphone Banking have also seen year-on-year growth of approximately 30% in both transaction volume and value.
“Long gone are the days of having to travel to a retail store to top-up your electricity meter when the lights go off, instead customers can recharge instantly using FNB Cellphone Banking, whilst standing in front of their meters,” says Dione Sankar, Head of Cellphone Banking and Messaging at FNB.
Over the years banks have introduced various ways to bank, including Cellphone Banking, which allows customers to bank whenever and wherever they want to using their cellphone. In addition to traditional banking needs, FNB has innovated to provide other convenient services such as Prepaid Airtime, Data Bundles and Lotto ticket purchases.
“Cellphone Banking is a popular and convenient channel for most South Africans who may not have easy access to traditional forms of banking like Branches or ATMs,” says Sankar.
Cellphone Banking is proving to be popular because of its convenience, no complex setup process, ease of use and safety factor. According to the World Wide Worx 2012 Mobility Report, Cellphone Banking is the third most popular method of banking in South Africa after ATMs and branch visits.
“Banking is no longer an activity that takes hours out of our customers’ day to travel to an ATM or Branch. It assists customers in keeping in touch with the bank 24/7 and providing value added services such as Prepaid Electricity or airtime, checking balances and making transfers or payments,” continues Sankar.
Cellphone Banking is also very safe and convenient to use. Sankar notes that the bank has a rigorous and multi-layered approach to ensure that Cellphone Banking is safe. “If customers do their part by not giving out any of their personal and banking information such as their PINs and passwords, there is no reason to worry that their money is not safe.”
