Following the launch of South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB) tablet application earlier this month, HumanIPO caught up with Farren Roper, head of FNB Connect ISP, and his team to discuss the new application.
“Essentially what we have designed is… an app that has been customised and built for tablets. We were the first bank in South Africa to launch a banking app in 2011 and since then the app’s amassed more than 450,000 active clients [and] it’s growing in excess of 40,000 per month so by the app’s second birthday it will probably be way more than half a million,” said Roper.
Roper said that one of the popular trends the FNB team has seen is the growth of the tablet market. Tablet sales have grown by 80 per cent year on year.
“26 per cent of our existing active client base are using our banking app on a tablet device. Our app has been built 100 per cent by an in-house team, so it would have been quite easy for us to resize our smartphone app and call it a tablet app, but we chose a different strategy,” said Roper.
The strategy involved making something that is custom or made to fit a tablet device.
Furthermore Roper said every project FNB embarks on is based on client demand, as was the case with the specially optimised tablet app.
The application contains dynamic content. An example of this content is the “interactive sphere”, which was designed to allow ease of use for clients when navigating the application.
Roper said non-FNB customers are able to apply for a cheque account through the application.
Legislative requirements, such as identification and proof of residence documentation, is taken care of through a courier, which collects the documentation upon delivering the banking card.
“Once you’ve completed the form on our tablet app your account exists, all that remains is for you to activate your account by receiving your card and giving the courier the necessary documentation,” said Roper.
Roper said FNB tried to make the application as interactive and intuitive as possible. The application features a full QWERTY keyboard, drag-and-drop, “swipe” and double tap functionality.
“It’s been designed in such a manner that it completely immerses a user with their sense of touch and also with their sense of sight because it’s visually appealing,” said Roper.
This means the application features the “small touches” because it greets the user by name upon logging in, it provides the user with customised content, which is geared for customer education on FNB’s digital channels, as well as rewards and “teaching customers how to save.”
The application also allows the purchase of electricity and the transaction of airtime.
The FNB tablet application is available for download through the Apple app store, the Google play store as well as the Windows store.
“I think one of the things that we’re seeing is… the price of tablets coming down. FNB was largely responsible for that because we broke the model.
“You can actually get a tablet from FNB from as little as ZAR150 (US$17) today.” The tablet comes with the FNB banking application pre-installed.
In addition to the tablet offers, FNB also offers smartphone deals, the latest of which is the recently launched Samsung Galaxy S4.
Christine Burrows, corporate communications manager for FNB, told HumanIPO the bank sources voice, SMS and data deals from various operators, including FNB Connect, but does not have a specific partnership with anyone.
“We look at [the] best value for our clients and then structure the offers, which may, or may not include talk time, SMS and data, accordingly,” said Burrows.
