Absa arms staff with iPads

·16 Dec 2013

Banking group Absa says that, in an effort to “fully digitalise” the Absa banking experience, it is equipping its front-line staff in branches with iPads.

The group, which has approximately 33,000 retail banking staff, did not, however, elaborate on how many tablets it would dish out.

“As part of a long-term plan to fully digitalise the Absa banking experience, and in order to make the lives of our employees and customers much easier, Absa will be embarking on a number of initiatives of which one is equipping our front-line staff in branches with iPads,” said Arrie Rautenbach, Absa head of retail banking.

“Our digital journey has already begun where Absa ATMs have evolved into transactional touch-points for our customers with services from the future such as a Scan n’ Pay functionality that allows customers to make bill payments or a new eStamp facility that allows customers the ability to get stamped, printed statements without entering the branch,” Rautenbach said.

He added that the group’s internet banking site, Absa Online, has also been transformed into a personal finance management tool with various transactional capabilities ranging from applying for insurance online to making online cross-boarder payments via Western Union.

“This is all in line with our mission to become the go-to bank for South Africa,” Rautenbach said.

In October, Absa said it committed more than R550-million to improve and enhance its ATM network and expand convenient self-service banking facilities.

Absa claims the largest ATM footprint nationwide with more than 9,000 machines.

The bank is also currently in the process of moving its mobile point-of-sale (POS) device, the Payment Pebble, into the next pilot phase, namely the open market with pre-selected merchants.