FNB extends cash withdrawals to retailers

"FNB cheque cards now enable cash back at both Pick n Pay and Shoprite Checkers‚" said Michael Jordaan‚ the CEO of FNB, on his official twitter account.

SA's big banks are leading their global peers in innovating with new delivery channels and have been quick to take advantage of the growing convergence between mobile and banking technology.

With pressure mounting from the government for them to slash transaction and banking fees‚ the big banks have created teams to work on innovations‚ such as money transfer and payment of bills using a cell phone.

Aware of ATM cash withdrawals‚ the banks are partnering with retailers to allow their customers to withdraw from till points at a fraction of the cost charged at the ATM or in the branch.

Jordaan said the FNB facility was free to cheque account customers on the bank's unlimited pricing option. He said customers could also make an unlimited number of cash-back withdrawals at the point of sale device in the month.

"For holders of FNB gold and platinum cheque account on a pay-as-you-use pricing option‚ the charge (for withdrawing cash from point of sale device) is 90c compared to a ATM cash withdrawal fee of R6 per R500 (up) to a maximum of R24‚" he said.

While FNB does not envisage the ATM becoming obsolete as a cash withdrawal facility‚ it believes over time it could become less of an attractive option because of the costs involved.

"We (still) see that ATMs will continue as a key delivery channel for customers drawing cash outside shopping hours and for customers who do not want to make a purchase at a retailer‚" said spokesman Steve Higgins.

Absa recently said it was introducing a new generation of ATMs as part of a major roll out of its digital banking strategy which would have wider applications‚ such as electronic bill payment and making cash deposits.

The Barclays-owned banking group is also trying to migrate its customers to digital channels‚ including mobile banking‚ which currently has more than 3.2-million customers as of December.

Source: Business Day