Pick 'n Pay's expansion into financial services pays off

Image supplied. Pick ‘n Pay’s expansion to offer financial services at its till has led to an 60% year-on-year increase in cash withdrawals in Pick n Pay stores last year

Deven Moodley, executive head for Pick n Pay’s value-added services, financial services and mobile division says that safety and convenience of banking at the till is already having an impact.

“With over 84 billion transactions associated with cash withdrawals, we hope that our banking services are also responsible for some of the increased footfall we are seeing in stores.”

Retail Banking services fall under Pick n Pay’s growing value-added services (VAS) umbrella, which includes financial services and mobile offerings.

The division, which is a growth engine for the retailer’s Ekuseni strategy, grew by 19.8% last year, driven by banking services and domestic money transfers in store.

Changing market conditions

The decision to expand their financial services offering was a response to changing market conditions, says Moodley.

“Our customers were already familiar with banking at our tills so when the pandemic happened it just made sense for them to get as much done as possible in one place.
“This coincided with a shift in the banking industry to digitise financial services and decrease their physical footprint.”

Not only is banking at the till less expensive, but it saves time because customers can do all of the banking they would normally do at an ATM while paying for their groceries.

“Because our tills are now also ATMs most shoppers will only need to go to a bank if they need very specialised services.” says Moodley.

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Expansion of services

Pick n Pay was first South African retailer to enable cash deposits, cash withdrawals, and contactless payment at their till points.

This has now been expanded to include additional services such as money transfers, social grant withdrawals, buying travel and event tickets, sports gaming, and digital vouchers.

The continuous technological advancements at the point of sale (POS) mean that customers can now access over 50 services from any till point, anytime.

“New FinTech makes it easy for Pick n Pay to offer these new banking services securely, swiftly and efficiently,” adds Moodley.

Changing consumer preferences

The shift to retail has been driven by a variety of factors, including changing consumer preferences and a decision by banks to scale down their location of ATMs for cost and security reasons.

“Busy people don’t have time to make multiple trips to different stores. Now our customers have the convenience of being able to bank where they shop and do their banking safely outside of traditional banking hours.”

Customers can draw, send or deposit money at any Pick n Pay, QualiSave and Boxer store. They can also access full banking services through a select number of Standard Bank, Nedbank in-store branches and Tyme Bank kiosks.

Safe and secure services

“For the banks, retail offers the perfect environment for them to offer safe and secure services where their customers regularly visit.,” says Moodley.

He says Pick n Pay is developing these services to offer customers a more holistic approach to how they bank in store.

“Ultimately, this is another way that Pick n Pay is making customers' lives easier and more convenient at our stores,” adds Moodley.