Johannesburg - Financial services provider FNB has become the latest bank to offer free banking by scrapping data costs on its mobile app.
Absa and Capitec also earlier announced it had concluded deals with mobile network operators to offer its customers free online banking. The banking deals provide users access to online banking through mobile apps on a smartphone, without having to pay for its data.
FNB already offers free access to its app to all FNB Connect customers, and offers free WiFi in most FNB branches for customers to download the app.
Giuseppe Virgillito, FNB Digital spokesperson, said that since launching the app six years ago, it has become the most downloaded in South Africa. "It is also the most popular banking app amongst consumers as recently rated in the SAcsi and Columinate SITEisfaction Index’s 2017.”
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Absa's banking application has had more than 500 000 installations on smartphones, according to the Google Play Store.
“We believe that access to data or airtime should not be a barrier to safe and convenient banking for South Africans. The zero rating of the app is in line with our broader strategy to migrate customers to digital and electronic channels where a number of transactions and services are already offered free of charge,” adds Virgillito.
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Similarly, the Capitec banking allows users to operate the app, which features mobile EFTs, payments, airtime, data and prepaid electricity purchases, while the user has a WiFi or network data connection. No data is however charged.
Capitec Bank was recently rated as the Best Bank in the world, according to the Lafferty Group’s 2017 Global Bank Quality Benchmarking study. The study ranks 100 major banks across 32 countries for their longer-term sustainability and awards its highest ratings to banks that focus on serving their clients’ needs in retail and corporate banking.