First National Bank reported on Wednesday that more than R1 billion has been sent via its money transfer solution, eWallet.
FNB’s eWallet (launched in October 2009) doesn’t require the recipient to have a bank account; all that is needed is a valid South African Cellphone number. The recipient receives an SMS informing them that they have received money, and by selecting the appropriate eWallet menu item, they can either withdraw cash from an FNB ATM, on-send the money to another recipient, or buy prepaid airtime / electricity.
CEO of eWallet Solutions, Yolande van Wyk, says that the growth of eWallet can be attributed to its ease of use and its convenience. “We are pleased with the growth that we have experienced. On average we are seeing over R3 million being sent daily to eWallets by FNB customers. This kind of activity illustrates how convenient our customers are finding eWallet.”
Since its launch, more than 700,000 eWallets have been created. FNB customers can send money via Cellphone Banking, Online Banking and FNB ATMs, with Cellphone Banking being the most popular channel. “eWallet is not a solution specifically for a certain target market. Customers from any income bracket can find benefit in using it. Besides being used for sending money to family or friends in remote areas, one can reimburse friends for lunch or use it to give their children pocket money,” adds van Wyk.
Since 2010, FNB has taken the solution into its African subsidiaries, with FNB eWallet now available in Swaziland, Lesotho and Botswana. “Africa is an important part of our strategy, and eWallet is proving to be extremely popular, showing similar month on month growth as was seen in South Africa.”
“We are constantly looking for ways to improve the service to add value to our customers. We have seen the importance of being at the forefront of our industry in order to differentiate ourselves from our peers and other services available in the market,” she concludes.
eWallet was recently shortlisted as a finalist for the Financial World Innovation Awards 2011 in the Innovation in the delivery of financial products - Multichannel and Mobile Banking. The Financial World Innovation Awards have been running for more than a decade, recognising examples of creativity and vision within the financial services industry. The awards will take place on 1 December 2011 in London.