South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB) has introduced a new mobile money service brand named pay2Cell service to its customers in Lesotho and Swaziland.
The service allows customers to make money transactions directly into other FNB accounts through the recipient Cellphone’s number without inclusion of other bank accounts details.
First National Bank’s chief executive Dione Sankar said ICT has changed the way banking operates and many African banks have now embraced Internet banking for deposits or withdrawal through a branch or international money transfer company.
“We understand the ICT trend and that’s why we have a solution to our customers,” Sankar said.
He further noted that Africans are adopting technology first and that the mobile phone is one of the fastest and most affordable devices hence the company the new service.
Financial analysts expect mobile banking to have a positive impact in banking sector for faster and efficient services that may generate more revenues to attract more investors in the industry.
First National Bank (FNB) has other links in Tanzania, Zambia, Swaziland Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and Lesotho, with plans underway to expand to Angola, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda.
The service was first established in 2011 with South Africans benefiting from it. A report from the firm indicates an increase of 400 percent transaction values.
Pay2Cell requires recipient mobile phone number to operate.
