Digital the future of banking: Absa
Absa says that digital is the future of banking, and it is committed to building significant digital capacity and capabilities.
On Tuesday (12 February), the bank reported a 9% decline in diluted headline earnings per share to 1‚224.6 cents for the period ended December 2012 from 1‚350 cents a year earlier.
Headline earnings dropped 9% to R8.807 billion, and revenue improved marginally (2%) to R46.9 billion.
Arrie Rautenbach, Absa’s head of retail markets, told BusinessTech that with its ambition to become the ‘Go to Bank’ in South Africa and selected African markets, Absa embarked on a digital journey with an upgrade to its online platform – absa.co.za – in 2011.
This was followed by a refresh of its ATM software and hardware capabilities.
Absa Online
Rautenbach said that the launch of AOL (Absa Online) in May last year ushered in new levels of capability, sophistication and convenience to the Absa internet banking clients.
AOL is also a platform to conduct Personal Financial Management online and it is optimised for tablet banking, he said.
“The next step in this journey will be the launch of mobile app which is currently in a beta phase pilot with a hundred pre-selected Absa staff members,” Rautenbach said.
The retail chief said that the bank has made a substantial investment to upgrade the ATM infrastructure both from a software and hardware perspective.
“Over 1,500 new ATMs and the new Cash Accepting ATMs with Scan ‘n Pay functionality were installed in the year 2012. The new ATM software and the new look and feel of our ATM profiles will further enhance the customer experience.”
Absa, which boasts 12.2 million customers, noted on Tuesday that its total IT-related spend declined 7% to R5.1 billion, but still accounts for 20% of group costs.
Positive results
According to Rautenbach, Absa’s efforts have started to show positive results, with digital sales volumes growing at 119% year on year in 2012.
“One of biggest growth was seen in cellphone banking client base which grew by over one million customers last year to 4.2 million. Over 40% of personal loans approved were initiated via digital channels.
“Customers have started to realise the benefits of secure, convenient and environmentally friendly eStatements which also grew by 96% last year. Absa processed over a billion rand in total values via its CashSend money transfer platform in 2012. This is 73% up from 2011,” Rautenbach said.
“There is no doubt that Digital is the future of banking, hence Absa is committed to building significant digital capacity and capabilities in order to make the lives of its customers much easier,” he said.
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