Cape Town - FNB believes that even brand-conscious customers will be attracted to their two new smartphone offerings.
“People are brand conscious when it comes to purchasing a smartphone. But we cannot underestimate the power of our brand itself,” Kartik Mistry, Head of FNB’s Smart Devices, told Fin24 on Tuesday.
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Mistry pioneered the idea to have the first tablets sold by a bank, and was also recently behind FNB’s initiative to sell their own-branded smartphones.
Mistry said that from a banking point of the view, being able to connect with customers in a different way was very exciting.
“It really is enabling our customers from a digital perspective. Building a phone is building a phone but when it comes to delivering value to our customers that’s where we are very excited,” Mistry said.
FNB’s mobile network arm – FNB Connect - currently has 400 000 subscribers.
The launch of the two new FNB ConeXis smartphones, the X1 and A1, further bolsters the bank’s smart device offering of existing smartphones, tablets, computers, TVs and consoles from various manufacturers.
“FNB is known as the most innovative bank and this lunges us ahead as the most innovative bank in the world,” Mistry said.
“This is a real accolade to the bank itself but also for the continent because we have got innovation and entrepreneurship coming out of a financial institution,” he added.
“We know that at FNB if there is a great idea, we log it, present the business case, we take it through the right channels and if it something that will work, we will get the support for it.”
FNB have partnered with recognised Chinese mobile manufacturer ZTE to produce the X1 and A1 devices.
Mistry said that with the manufacturer producing top tier devices, they were confident that they would be able to produce a quality product for the brand.
“What we have found is then when we put the FNB logo to something, people trust the product. People trust us with their money and will trust us for the smartphone they purchase,” Mistry told Fin24.