Customers of South Africa-based First National Bank (FNB) can now access a number of banking services on the giant social networking site Facebook. This is a first-of-its-kind banking innovation in South Africa.
The customers have to first link their Facebook profiles to their Cellphone Banking profile to access FNB banking services via the social networking site.
Once the two profiles are linked, customer can access the “FNB Banking on facebook” app via Facebook, which will allow them to check their balances, purchase prepaid products including airtime, SMS and BlackBerry bundles, as well as the option to view LOTTO (National Lottery) and PowerBall results.
Ravesh Ramlakan, CEO of FNB Cellphone Banking, commented: “As a bank, we average around 15 000 conversations monthly, via social media, with existing and potential customers. It is without a doubt that social media banking is the next frontier – to us this is a channel that will provide our customers with more choice and convenience to do their banking.”
According to Ramlakan, the spirit of innovation is driven by the need to provide the customers with the best possible banking experience.
“For us to remain as leaders in the innovation race we need to rapidly adapt to the constant changes in our environment,” he added.
The bank, which has more than 150,000 Facebook fans, expects its “Facebook Banking App” to prove popular with South Africa’s more than 4.7 million Facebook users.
“This is an opportunity for us to tap into a new and fresh market, introducing our diverse product offering to a different audience in a ‘cool’ way,” Ramlakan said.
