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PRESS RELEASE: Prepaid Electricity Purchases Using Cellphones Growing

Purchasing prepaid electricity via FNB's (First National Bank) cellular telephone banking services is growing in popularity as customers begin to see the benefit of using the bank's self-service channels for their transactions. FNB Namibia has advised that 82% of all prepaid electricity purchases processed by the bank are made via cellular telephone.

Long gone are the days of having to travel to a retail store to top-up your electricity meter when the lights go off," says Desery van Wyk, head of cellphone banking at FNB Namibia. "Instead customers can recharge instantly using their phones," she says. Prepaid electricity purchases have seen year-on-year growth of about 174% in both transaction volume and value. “FNB Namibia launched this facility in February 2012 and since then it has gone from strength to strength."
 


(Photograph: Desery van Wyk, Head: Cellphone Banking, First National Bank, Namibia)

Over the years banks have introduced various ways to bring banking services to customers, including mobile banking, which allows customers to bank whenever and wherever they want. "Cellphone banking is a popular and convenient channel for most Namibians who may not have easy access to traditional forms of banking like branches or ATMs," says van Wyk.

In South Africa, for example, according to the World Wide Worx 2012 Mobility Report, cellphone banking is the third most popular method of banking after ATMs and branch visits. In Namibia the situation is similar. FNB Namibia encourages customers to make as much use of self-service channels as possible as this is cheaper, quicker, more convenient and accessible to many more.

For more information please contact Vicky Muranda, Manager: Corporate Communications at FNB Holdings on telephone: (+264 61) 299 2944.

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