Durban - FNB has launched its own branded smartphones in a bid to encourage consumers to make use of cellphone banking in what is believed to be a first for the bank on the continent.
FNB Consumer Segment chief executive, Jan Kleynhans, on Tuesday unveiled the bank’s two smartphones, the ConeXis A1 and the higher specification X1, which the bank will make available to its customers with transactional accounts, in more than 380 of its major branches from next month.
“Mobile banking is more than just having the best banking app. For us, true mobile banking is enabling customers to bank anywhere, any time using smartphone technology at very affordable prices,” Kleynhans said.
He said the phones would be sold to customers on contract with the bank’s mobile app loaded, while there was no need for credit checks, as the bank retained security deposits from customers, which would be repaid with 5.5% interest after a 24-month period.
“The FNB offering is also structured to encourage a savings culture through the use of convenient and cost-effective savings platforms,” Kleynhans said.
He said customers should be able to have control over their money and would be able to receive instant free notifications of all debits off their accounts.
The A1 phone is aimed at the lower end of the market for R59 a month with 15 minutes airtime and 50MB of data, while the X1 would be R150 a month with 25 minutes airtime and 100MB of data.
Kleynhans said the bank wanted to be at the forefront of the smartphone revolution because about 50% of total internet usage worldwide was via smartphones.
He said the bank had spent the past three years developing the technology before manufacturing the devices in China.