Jacques Celliers, CEO of FNB, said, “We are pleased to join forces with MTN to deliver even greater value to all our customers. This collaboration is consistent with our efforts to leverage reliable network infrastructure in the market to accelerate our delivery of cost-effective data and voice plans and other ICT services. Telecommunications and ICT services are central to the integrated value propositions we offer our customers across financial and lifestyle services. Our ability to help customers manage both their finances and telco needs through our trusted single digital platform is unique, consistent with our aim to provide helpful, easily accessible, and innovative solutions.

“Reliable connectivity is a powerful enabler for individuals, families, and businesses. In the months ahead, we will expand our range of services by introducing more cost-effective and tailored solutions for both individual and business customers. This includes IoT (Internet of Things) solutions that empower businesses to improve efficiency and productivity. We will also offer fibre, 5G, and LTE for faster internet speeds and reliable connectivity for both residential and commercial customers,” adds Celliers.

MTN South Africa CEO, Charles Molapisi said, “The partnership is part of our broader efforts to support MVNOs and other institutions that recognise the value of connectivity and internet services for their customers. This partnership marks a significant milestone for both FNB and MTN, which have been instrumental in innovation in the South African market and is a further endorsement for MTN as the network of networks. By combining our strengths, we are poised to create a truly exceptional network experience for FNB Connect users while also enabling access to a broader range of ICT services, beyond just connectivity, for FNB customers. We look forward to the positive impact this collaboration will have on the South African telecommunications and financial services landscape.

FNB Connect recently disclosed that it rewarded customers with over R300 million in free data and phone minutes in the first half of the financial year 2023. Moreover, the MVNO sold about R400 million in digital devices through the FNB App within the same period.

Jacques Celliers, CEO of FNB, says, “We are pleased and humbled that eBucks has been honoured at the International Loyalty Awards once again. This achievement underscores our commitment to offering our customers great value and cutting-edge solutions. In a time when the cost of living is putting pressure on households and businesses, rewards have been an important buffer for customers. Our aim is to ensure that customers get value from the programme while embracing our advice-led approach to helping them better manage their money.”

The sentiment is echoed by Johan Moolman, eBucks Rewards CEO, who says, “The high levels of participation among FNB and RMB Private Bank encourage us to deliver the best programme in the market. In addition, our partners across the full range of categories we offer have provided phenomenal support for our efforts to ensure that the programme benefits are in line with customers’ needs. In true behavioural style, eBucks continues to drive customers’ engagement with FNB’s digital channels, such as the FNB App, where customers can access programme benefits, tips, and manage their money and rewards easily and safely.”

Since its inception, eBucks has paid out over R19.2 billion and has an average earn-to-spend ratio of 95%, with most customers spending their eBucks within 30 days. Millions of South Africans continue to rely on the programme to alleviate financial constraints for necessities such as fuel and food, travel expenses, and daily essentials like airtime and data. In the past year, FNB enabled its customers to use their eBucks to pay for some of their bank fees, and many customers have used this benefit to the value of R92 million since its introduction.

“We encourage customers to take advantage of our benefits to free-up some financial pressure. We are grateful for our eBucks members’ willingness to allow us to help them with their financial behaviour while also taking care of their lifestyle demands,” concludes Moolman.

FNB CEO, Jacques Celliers, says, “For 184 years, our sense of care has been vital to our efforts to help millions of individuals, families, and businesses realise their dreams and aspirations. Our efforts to transition beyond banking are still deeply rooted in our promise of helping customers with advice they can trust, solutions that are easy to use and safe, and a brand that is relevant at every life stage. Our journey to help customers navigate life is similar to the versatile Acacia tree, that has been deeply rooted within our brand and continues to grow and thrive withstanding the test of time.”

Reimagining advice

“We aspire to be a trusted partner helping customers, their families, and their businesses thrive and achieve their goals through positive changes in financial behaviour. To this end, we want to make it easy for our customers to free up cashflow through best value for money solutions that make their money go further to realise their investment and insurance needs in line with their goals. We want to help customers through various life stages for themselves, their families and their businesses, and to ensure we advise them on the right solutions for their needs,” explains Celliers.

Reimagining user experience

The FNB App, Africa’s first banking App, has been redesigned to offer even more intuitive help through its ease of use and a safer digital experience. Customers can now personalise their FNB App by customising its home screen and selecting frequently used or preferred features. Customers can also view a snapshot of their transactional accounts, credit, investments, insurance, and value-added services. In addition, the search function has been improved to help customers find services much quicker. Similar enhancements are being made to the internet banking channel.

FNB has also introduced Money Protect, a new and industry-first benefit of free insurance cover for certain fraud-related losses when using interfaces such as the FNB App and ATMs. The benefit demonstrates FNB’s commitment to helping customers transition to safer digital interfaces.

“We continue to facilitate our customers’ journey from analogue to digital and digital to platform. We’re excited to see millions of our customers embracing the migration to more accessible, user-friendly, and safer interfaces. Our digital interfaces have become a one-stop shop for customers’ financial and lifestyle needs, with over 3 billion transactions and 1.6 billion digital interactions over the past 12 months. Likewise, we recognise that fraud is a reality in our society, and we are continuously enhancing our measures to assist millions of our digitally active customers in mitigating these risks,” says Celliers.

Reimagining payments

FNB Pay is now the payments umbrella in the FNB App. With a few taps, customers can now split a bill and those who run businesses can receive contactless payments easily and safely on their android smart devices, without the need for a separate point-of-sale device.

Reimagining our iconic brand

FNB is also refreshing its iconic brand to become more versatile and resonate beyond banking and financial services. FNB Chief Marketing Officer, Faye Mfikwe, explains the brand’s evolution by acknowledging that change is important to staying relevant to customers. “The refresh helps us to create a versatile brand look and feel that aligns with our accelerating transition to helping customers beyond banking into lifestyle and business solutions categories,” she says.

“We intend to embark on this journey while remaining deeply rooted in our brand heritage and brand promise of ‘How can we help you’. At the heart of our evolution is the appreciation of our responsibility to keep up with the step change in customers’ needs and the global transition to a platform era. We believe that our efforts set us apart as a formidable provider of advice-led financial and lifestyle services, underpinned by exponential help,” adds Mfikwe.

Celliers expresses a similar sentiment by saying, “Our platform journey continues. Whether our customers need help navigating life, making every day easier, or realising their dreams for a better tomorrow, we are invested in helping them realise their goals,” he concludes.

• Starbucks: Customers can recharge with a complimentary coffee weekly on FNB.
• Udemy: giving FNB customers affordable access to hundreds of online courses.
• GuardMe: a medical and personal armed response service at a tap of a button on the FNB App.
• eBucks Games: a world of ad-free games with no monthly subscription.
• FNB Connect ‘Hero Device Deals’: High end smartphones, laptops and iPads from Apple, Samsung and Lenovo at a price point that is cheaper than buying from retail stores.
• SLOW Lounge: FNB announces the official acquisition of the SLOW Lounges.

Jacques Celliers, CEO of FNB, says, “Our expanded lifestyle solutions demonstrate our commitment to delivering contextual innovations to our customers via our trusted digital platform. In keeping with our status of providing customers with the best value-added services in financial services, we are once again shifting into high gear in our efforts to offer customers exponential help. We are delighted to have like-minded partners as we are significantly scaling our unique ability to enable customers to manage both the financial and lifestyle facets of their lives by using the power of our integrated platform.”

Raj Makanjee, FNB Retail CEO, says, “As South Africa’s largest provider of transactional banking services, we are acutely aware of the areas where our customers spend the majority of their money. As a result, our new solutions and partnerships are informed by a combination of our big data and analytical capabilities, which enables us to meet our customers’ needs. By providing integrated solutions and low-cost devices for accessing education, security, entertainment, and staying connected, we help customers manage their money and lifestyles more effectively. We continue to expand our solutions beyond financial services, building on the success of lifestyle offerings such as nav», fuel rewards and eBucks Travel, as well as FNB Connect.”

FNB’s new lifestyle solutions and partnerships offer several industry-leading benefits, including:

Starbucks: Recharge with a free Starbucks coffee on FNB

Individual customers of FNB and RMB Private Bank can now recharge with a complimentary coffee or hot beverage of their choice once a week up to R37. Customers can unlock this benefit by doing 5 FNB Pay (including Apple Pay/Samsung Pay/FitBit Pay/Garmin Pay) or Virtual Card transactions on a weekly basis.

Udemy: Learn anytime and anywhere with Udemy courses and pay only a R50 activation fee upon enrolment.

FNB and Udemy curated a world-class library of 400 online learning and self-development courses for FNB and RMB Private Bank customers across categories including finance, IT, marketing, personal development, teaching, and more. eBucks members can enrol in up to six courses per year for a discounted activation fee of only R50 per course with no course fee.

To sign up for a course, within the FNB mobile app, go to the eBucks Partner section and select Udemy. Udemy courses can be completed anytime, anywhere and customers have lifetime access to their courses.

GuardMe: Armed response and access to medical emergency services with the tap of a panic button

FNB and RMB Private Bank customers now have access to GuardMe, powered by AURA, a 24-hour personal security service. Customers can register to access to 250 armed-response service providers, 2,500 armed-response vehicles, and over 5,000 armed-response personnel via the FNB or RMB Private Bank App.

eBucks Games: A world of ad free games with no monthly subscription and you can use eBucks to play

eBucks Games provides customers with access to a secure and safe mobile gaming platform that contains no advertisements or pop-ups, customers can add other members to their profile regardless of whether they bank with FNB or RMB Private Bank. Customers can access these games using almost any device.

There are no monthly subscription fees and a large selection of both free and paid games. Customers can also play alone or challenge other players to tournaments, with prizes worth up to R250 000 in the latest gaming consoles, airline tickets, and vouchers. 

Acquisition of FNB SLOW Lounge

To top it off, FNB officially announced the acquisition of SLOW Lounge Business after receiving all necessary regulatory approvals. Airport SLOW Lounges have provided enormous value to FNB and RMB Private Bank customers flying through OR Tambo, Lanseria, King Shaka, and Cape Town International airports since their inception. Apart from flight discounts that customers receive, they also get additional SLOW Lounge visits when booking their flights via the FNB or RMB Private Bank App.