FNB Retail and Private Banking Chief Executive, Raj Makanjee

by AKANI CHAUKE
JOHANNESBURG – FIRST National Bank (FNB) clients withdrew over R5 billion (US$309 million) via Shoprite and Checkers stores over the past financial year.

The financial house disclosed the figures as it announced the expansion with the bank to allow FNB Easy Pay As You Use and Smart Option account holders to replace lost or stolen bank cards in more than 700 Shoprite and Checkers stores across South Africa.

This means FNB customers will now have another convenient channel to replace their bank cards, in addition to FNB branches.

Since 2013, FNB has also paid out in excess of R2 billion in rewards by offering customers up to 15 percent back in eBucks for purchases at Shoprite and Checkers outlets.

“We are on journey to provide real help by making our customers’ lives a lot easier through convenient access to services,” Chief Executive of FNB Retail and Private Banking, Raj Makanjee, said.

“More importantly, we are aware of the financial constraints that customers continue to face, including those who hold our Easy bank accounts.”

Earlier this year, FNB zero-rated prepaid purchases via its app for all individual customers.

Jean Olivier, General Manager: Financial Services for the Shoprite Group, said the partnership with FNB was the latest of a number of financial services innovations, products and services introduced by the Shoprite Group.

This is in line with the aim of making basic banking functionalities accessible and convenient, and to better serve customers.

While the adoption of digital payments alternatives like virtual cards and QR Code continues to gain momentum in South Africa, physical cards remain important for customers.

“Physical bank cards are vital in helping customers manage their money better by minimizing reliance on cash, which is expensive to utilise,” said FNB Easy CEO, Philani Potwana.

– CAJ News