Cellphone banking drives mobile data growth

In recognition of this demand, First National Bank (FNB) now allows customers to purchase prepaid data and SMS bundles directly from their bank accounts using Cellphone Banking, Online Banking or selected FNB ATMs. This gives customers convenient access to these products 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even on public holidays and with the bundles loaded automatically to a cellphone account.

FNB claims to be the first financial institution to offer a mobile network operator's data and SMS bundles through its electronic distribution network and plans to enhance this offering by adding other operator's bundles in the near future.

Since the launch of this product in 2007, the bank says it has proven to be very popular with customers and has in the last 12 months shown over 400% year-on-year sales growth.

A report published by Pyramid Research says that mobile data will account for 29% of the global mobile service revenue in 2012, up from 19% in 2007. Clearly, the mobile data opportunity is soaring: the 2007 mobile data revenue was more than double what it was in 2004.