A banking app enables you to do more or less everything that you can do with internet banking, only faster and with greater ease. Yet the uptake of banking apps has been relatively weak in South Africa.
Arthur Goldstuck, managing director of World Wide Worx, says the downloading of banking apps constitutes a tiny fraction of downloads by smartphone and tablet users. It is, however, “growing fast”, he says.
All of the big four banks have apps. First National Bank (FNB) was first to launch one, in July 2011. Nedbank and Standard Bank launched theirs in July last year, and Absa launched its app in April this year.
* FNB’s app, which has 600 000 active users, was voted the best app in South Africa, across all industries, in last year’s MTN App of the Year Awards, according to Giuseppe Virgillito, head of channels: FNB Banking App;
* Nedbank has 270 000 app users, Ryan Scerri, senior channel manager for mobile banking at Nedbank, says;
* Absa’s app has 220 000 users, Adrian Vermooten, head of digital channels and payments at Absa, says; and
* Standard Bank’s app has 195 000 users, Vuyo Mpako, head of channel design and development at Standard Bank, says.
Across all banks, the number of app users as a percentage of online banking customers is small. For example, Standard Bank has 1.7 million customers who bank online and Absa has about 1.3 million.
Research done in the United States shows that customers who are reluctant to use a banking app either have security fears or see no need for it – they say their banking needs are met by internet banking.
Scerri confirms that users are sceptical. “There is this perception that mobile is less secure, but we use the same security protocol as we do with internet banking,” he says.
“People think that if your mobile device gets lost or stolen, you’re compromised, but that’s like saying you’re compromised if your laptop gets lost or stolen. You’re only at risk if your credentials are [stored] on the laptop, and the same applies to your mobile device. The same security measures apply; it’s just another device,” Scerri says (see “But are they safe?”, below).
Hesitant to hit “install”? Personal Finance answers the questions you may be too embarrassed to ask.
Why do I need an app?
An app offers you a richer, more intuitive banking experience than online banking, as well as features that add value, such as access to financial indicators for commodity and share prices and foreign exchange rates. Each app is unique in its design, which determines usability. And while all the banking apps offer more or less the same features (see “What your bank’s app can do for you”, right), each app boasts a unique feature or two.
For example, FNB app users can make calls to other FNB app users free of charge, irrespective of whether they are FNB customers. Another unique feature of FNB’s app is the Geo Payment function, which enables non-FNB customers using the app to make payments (see “Do I need to be a customer to use the app?”, below). Absa’s app is available in Afrikaans and features a video app tour and the ability to assign profile images to beneficiaries. Nedbank’s app lets you do online share trading, and Standard Bank’s app gives you a graphic illustration of your net available balances across all your bank accounts.
What’s an app used for?
The purpose of an app is to enable you to serve yourself, access information and do your banking using your smartphone or tablet. Trans-action features include being able to transfer money between accounts, make a payment to a beneficiary or add a beneficiary. Most of the banking apps enable you to open an account online.
Apps boast a host of features, from locating the nearest ATM or branch, with a map to get you there, to calculators to work out vehicle repayments, home loan repayments and home loan affordability. You can also access important numbers (for example, to report lost or stolen cards) and dial them using your touch screen.
What will it cost me?
The banking apps offered by the big four are free to download from your device’s app store and free to use, but your cellphone provider will charge you for the data used to download the app. Some of the apps are very large, so if you have a contract with a data bundle, make use of any “free” data to do your downloads.
The size of the app depends on where you download it from (which app store your device uses). Absa’s app is between 10 and 13 megabytes, FNB’s is between 21MB and 24MB, Nedbank’s is between 1MB and 2MB and Standard Bank’s app is 4MB.
You will pay transaction charges in line with the pricing option linked to your account.
How user-friendly are banking apps?
Downloading an app from the app store onto your device is simple. (If you have an iPhone or iPad, you would download from the Apple App Store; if you have a BlackBerry, you would download from the BlackBerry World, and if your device uses the Android operating system, you would use the Google Play Store or the Samsung App Store.)
If you want to make full use of the app, you need to register your device with your bank. The bank then pairs or links the device with your online banking profile. After launching the app, an initial authentication process ensues and you enter your online banking credentials. Thereafter, when you want to transact using the app, you enter your customer-selected PIN or a password only.
Once you’re “in” the app, using it is simple. If you can navigate your way around Facebook on your phone, you can use a banking app – or work out how.
But are they safe?
Virgillito says banking via an app is a safe way of transacting. “There’s no risk of SIM-swap fraud because we authenticate you on a device level; only your device is linked to your banking profile.”
Virgillito says that if your phone is stolen, the thief needs your PIN to do any banking on the app, and after the third wrong attempt, the bank will block your profile. If you launch your banking app, log in and get distracted, after some time your session will expire and you will be logged out.
Scerri says users render themselves vulnerable by using the same password for all their services (for example, Facebook, Twitter and banking) and using passwords that are easy to predict.
Approve-it, the security technology used by Nedbank, sends a message to the client’s device asking them to authenticate internet or cellphone banking transactions by accepting or rejecting the transaction rather than prompting them to enter a one-time password (OTP) into the online channel. An OTP can be compromised by a fraudster who hacks into your session or tricks you into sending it to them.
Scerri says a fraudster cannot hack into your session while you’re doing app banking, “because once you enrol, the device is linked to your personal credentials. Only your credentials can be used on that device, so the fraudster would need the device and the log-in credentials to access the app.”
Vermooten says your data is encrypted in the app and users need not be fearful of using the app via wi-fi, even at unsecured wi-fi hotspots.
But be careful what apps you download and where you download them from. Malware is still a threat, because an app could contain a hidden keylogger – a program that logs your keystrokes. Before an app is made available for downloading from an app store, it is vetted by the app store, so don’t download apps from stores that are not reputable.
Vermooten says Absa advises customers to download and install apps only from their device’s official app store to ensure that the app is genuine and has been properly verified. “Blackberry and Android users should be careful to install apps from Google Play Store, Samsung Store or Blackberry World only,” he says.
There is a security risk if you have a “jailbreak” iPhone or an Android device that has been “rooted”. According to appleiphoneschool.com, this is when a user “gains access to areas of the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad that users aren’t supposed to mess with”. Users do this so that they can run unauthorised software. “Android rooting” is the process of allowing users of devices running the Android operating system to attain privileged control (known as “root access”) within Android’s subsystem.
You also need to be on the alert against a “smishing attack”, an SMS phishing attack. This is when you are sent an SMS with an embedded link – you are induced into clicking on the link and, in doing so, tricked into downloading a virus or malware on to your device.
Dione Sankar, head of cellphone banking and messaging at FNB, says the bank has not seen an increase in “smishing” attacks.
“FNB uses various means to ensure that our platforms are safe and secure. In addition to this, the bank makes it a priority to keep customers informed of various fraud techniques and how to recognise and avoid them. Customers should never divulge any of their personal information, such as OTPs, PINs or passwords,” Sankar says.
Virgillito says: “Your phone is no longer just a phone, which is why the smartphone is referred to as the ‘smartphone of everything’, because you can do everything from it.” Aside from your banking app, there is usually personal information on your cellphone, so it is advisable to password-protect your phone as a primary means of security, he says.
Do I need to be a customer to use the app?
No. Non-customers enjoy limited use of the banking apps offered by banks that are not their own. For example, FNB’s app enables non-FNB customers to make Geo Payments, among other things (see “What your bank’s app can do for you”, below).
MOBILE BANKING 1, 2, 3 …
There are three ways you can do mobile banking. All you need is a mobile device (feature phone, smartphone or tablet). Depending on the options your bank offers, you can do mobile banking using:
* Your non-smart cellphone (feature phone) via a dial string (regular cellphone banking: see page 2);
* Your feature phone via a mobi site; or
* Your smartphone or tablet using a banking app (application).
App banking is the way of the future, with one bank having already discontinued its mobi site.
An app is “online” software that runs on your smartphone or tablet. In other words, you need to be connected to the internet and to have downloaded the app to use it.
“Your smartphone has an operating system and the app is designed [specifically] for that system, which means it is optimised for your phone or mobile device and generally gives you the best experience; it’s made to fit,” Dione Sankar, head of cellphone banking and messaging at First National Bank, says.
Apps are designed for the hardware of various makes of phone, so you can leverage off the specific features of your phone, such as the camera or GPS (satellite navigation system), he says.
“Some banks have apps that are specifically designed for larger tablet devices, while others give their tablet users a larger version of their smartphone app,” Sankar says.
WHAT YOUR BANK’S APP CAN DO FOR YOU
Absa
The app lets customers:
* Make payments.
* Transfer funds.
* Send money via cellphone to someone without a bank account (CashSend).
* Add beneficiaries.
* Pay beneficiaries using your contacts on your device.
* Buy prepaid airtime for yourself or a beneficiary.
* Add photos of your beneficiaries to identify them easily.
* Use the app in Afrikaans.
* Link more than one device to your banking profile.
* Link more than one profile to a shared device. and
* View your account information in graphs.
Customers and non-Absa customers can use the app to:
* Check exchange rates.
* Use calculators (home loan repayments, car repayments, lump sum investment, savings).
* Locate Absa ATMs and branches.
* View the Absa app video, which explains how to use the app.
For help, call 08600 08600.
First National Bank
FNB’s app lets customers:
* Make Geo Payments. This is a location-based person-to-person payment system where you can find and pay other app users without having their banking details. The payer and the recipient must be within 500 metres of each other and both must have the FNB app launched. The payer does not have to load the recipient as a beneficiary and the recipient does not have to part with his or her bank account details. Their cellphones pair via GPS and in seconds the payment is made and received. The recipient need not have an FNB bank account and can have money paid into an FNB eWallet.
* Make use of full eWallet functionality (sending money via cellphone to someone without a bank account – see below).
* Make payments.
* Transfer funds.
* View detailed balances and transaction histories.
* Add, edit or delete beneficiaries.
* Send money to any South African cellphone number.
* Make calls and send messages through the app itself.
* Locate FNB ATMs and branches on a map.
* Access an FNB call centre directory.
* Buy prepaid electricity, airtime, and data.
* Receive inContact messages.
* View forex rates.
* Apply for FNB accounts.
* Manage debit card limits.
* Stop cheques.
* Stop payments.
* View your transfer and payment history.
* Register for email statements.
Customers and non-FNB customers can use the FNB app to:
* Make or receive Geo Payments using eWallet . As a non-FNB customer, you need an FNB customer to make an initial payment into your eWallet in ord er to activate it. Or you can visit an FNB Easy Plan branch, with your South African ID, to register your eWallet and make deposits using the bank’s automated deposit taking machines.
For help, call 087 575 0362.
Nedbank
Nedbank’s app lets customers:
* Get balance inquiries.
* View mini and full statements.
* View your payment history.
* Search for transactions or statements.
* Set up future-dated payments and transfers.
* Set up recurring payments and transfers.
* Make once-off payments.
* Pay beneficiaries and bank-defined beneficiaries (for example, Edgars).
* Add a beneficiary.
* Make tax and UIF payments to SARS.
* Send proof of payment (via SMS, fax or email).
* Buy prepaid airtime and data bundles from network providers.
* Change your app PIN.
* Order a chequebook.
* Trade shares – view your complete share portfolio and order book, place orders and cancel open orders. Click on a share in your portfolio to view costs, current prices and related information. You can also trade the share by clicking on “Buy” or “Sell”. The order book shows you all your executed, opened and cancelled orders for the day.
* Keep track of up to 10 shares on a market “watch list”, which will display market data relating to your selected shares, such as the last traded price, highs and lows of the day, a 30-day graph, and the day’s trading volume. Prices displayed are delayed by 15 minutes.
Customers and non-Nedbank customers can use the app to:
* Keep track of up to 10 shares on a market “watch list” (see above).
* View a list of important Nedbank phone numbers, all of which can be dialled from the directory.
* Search for branches and ATMs.
* View exchange rates for the major currencies (and use a forex calculator from the rates table).
* Receive messages from Nedbank to a secure inbox.
* Open a bank account.
For help, call 0860 555 111.
Standard Bank
Standard Bank’s app lets customers:
* Transfer between accounts.
* Pay beneficiaries (though you cannot as yet add beneficiaries).
* Buy airtime, pre-paid electricity and SMS and data bundles (MTN and Vodacom only).
* Send money to other Standard Bank customers using their cellphone numbers (provided the recipient is also registered for Standard Bank mobile banking).
* View account balances.
* View the net balance on all your accounts (in graphs).
* View statements.
* View financial indicators (the FTSE/JSE All Share Index, major currencies, gold and platinum prices).
* Locate Standard Bank ATMs and branches.
* Use calculators (for home loan repayments, home loan affordability, and vehicle and asset finance repayments).
Customers and non-Standard Bank customers can:
* View financial indicators.
* Locate the bank’s ATMs and branches.
* Use calculators.
For help, call 0860 238 837.