To Make Accounts Stickier, African Bank Offers Cellphone Service

From American Banker –

“As U.S. bankers fear losing the primary relationships with their customers to technologically nimble outsiders, a South African bank is showing how financial institutions could conceivably return the favor.

First National Bank, the republic's third-largest bank by assets, began offering cellphone service to its direct-deposit accountholders last month. Customers who buy the bank-branded SIM cards for their phones can sign on to a single FNB site for their financial and mobile accounts. There they can pay their phone bills, buy data service packages, and activate international roaming. FNB resells the airtime from Cell C, a mobile operator.”

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Three top benefits of mobile payments in Africa

From Mobile Payments Today –

“The growth of mobile-payment systems in continental Africa is skyrocketing at an astounding rate.

In 2002, only 3 percent of people in the entire continent had mobile phones; by 2010, that had increased to 48 percent. Last year, 70 percent of the continent’s population had a mobile phone and the number is still climbing.

These are not smartphones; these phones have no bells, whistles, or apps. What they do offer their owners is access to goods and services without the need for cash, credit cards, or even a checking or savings account. Indeed, while numerous individuals in many African countries do have mobile phones, they do not have bank accounts.”

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Why Is The Starbucks Mobile Payments App So Successful?

From Forbes

‘ “No single competency is enabling us to elevate the Starbucks brand more than our global leadership in mobile, digital, and loyalty. Starbucks is a clear leader in mobile payments and we are encouraged by how consumers have embraced mobile apps as a way to pay.”- Howard Schultz, 2013’

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