FNB will offer SIM card packages to small businesses — an area that has traditionally been the preserve of telecom enterprise units — to boost its telecom offering, FNB Connect.
This signals the bank’s push to offer more telecom services, taking advantage of its banking expertise to provide more value and comprehensive services to its customers.
Over the years, FNB has gained a reputation for its digital banking push and not being afraid to try new things, with the introduction of eWallet a decade ago and a mobile banking app at the heart of its strategy for an all-in-one e-commerce platform or superapp.
A big piece of this strategy is the bank’s FNB Connect unit, which houses its mobile business, as well as its digital goods and devices arms.
On Tuesday, FNB said its telecom division is extending its range of SIM packages to small businesses that it refers to as single member entities (SMEs), “to help them stay connected with their customers and employees”.
The offering includes access to a maximum of 20 SIM cards for employees, which can be managed by the business owners through FNB’s digital channels, apps and website.
FNB has the largest mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) business in SA, a market that also includes Standard Bank Mobile and Mr Price Mobile, and previously Virgin Mobile.
MVNOs constitute about 2% of total mobile subscribers in SA. They are usually non-telecom businesses that lease network infrastructure from mobile operators to sell data and voice services to their customers.
Cell C — whose network FNB uses — has been the largest MVNO provider for a number of years, but is facing growing competition from larger mobile operators, mandated by the government to offer similar services in the market. FNB recently signed a contract with MTN, which will now be the second provider for its network.
Sashin Sookroo, CEO of FNB Connect, said: “This offering complements a range of telecommunications solutions that we currently have for businesses, including fibre-to-the-business solutions in partnership with Vox.”
In late 2021, FNB signed a deal with telecom and technology company Vox to offer its business clients fibre internet connectivity.
Sookroo recently took over as the head of FNB Connect in July after the departure of Bradwin Roper, who is now leading MTN SA’s financial services effort.
“Essentially we are enabling our business clients to communicate effectively with their customers, deliver high standards of customer service and a key element in allowing employees to collaborate easily from wherever they are located,” Sookroo said.
“Moreover, the ability to manage the SIMs through our platform and digital channels enables flexibility and more efficient control of the packages, such as topping up and managing spend limits.”
According to the bank, each SIM has its own number and cellphone plans, which are month to month, may be cancelled with one month’s notice. FNB says this structure is because many SMEs operate in project-orientated industries, such as transport, catering, entertainment and property development, among other things.
The plans include LTE data packages ranging from 5GB to 50GB and the bank purports savings of up to 70% for business telecom bills, with unlimited talk time, 1.5G of data and 100 SMSs every month, at a price of R429.
FNB offers its Connect packages through the bank’s mobile banking app with SIM cards and devices delivered to the customer at no extra cost.
In recent years, banks and telecom operators have started competing for the same customers as mobile operators double down on financial services, driven by mobile payments as a new growth area in the face of falling mobile and data revenues.
At the same time, FNB and Standard Bank, two of the country’s largest banking groups, have launched mobile networks as a way to increase consumption of their digital banking services.
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