David Pfaff, chief financial officer at Tyme Bank, has provided an overview of some of the key banking trends likely to emerge in South Africa in 2022.<\/p>\n
Commenting in Payfast’s latest eCommerce performance index, Pfaff said that one of the most significant shifts would be fewer <\/strong>physical bank branches<\/strong> in South Africa.<\/p>\n “With the rise of mobile and internet banking, physical bank branches are no longer considered a necessity \u2013 in fact, most people would rather avoid them. In South Africa, low levels of digital literacy and high data costs mean that a hybrid approach is necessary to bridge the gap,” he said.<\/p>\n “At TymeBank, 85% of bank accounts have been opened at retailer kiosks in Pick n Pay and Boxer stores, while only 15% were opened online. The convenience of being able to bank at their local supermarket is a big draw factor for consumers wanting to avoid waiting in long queues, but who don’t have the resources to bank online.”<\/p>\n Pfaff said he also expects ‘buy now, pay later ‘ <\/strong>to become increasingly popular – especially among online shoppers who want to make purchases now but don’t have the immediate funds.<\/p>\n “Our data shows that the average transaction of a BNPL customer is significantly higher in value than immediate payments. This highlights the attraction BNPL holds for customers looking to avoid high-interest credit card fees, as well as its potential to benefit businesses catering to customers with various spending habits and budgets.”<\/p>\n Pfaff also expects multi-banking<\/strong> to grow as South Africans opt to open multiple accounts across several different banks.<\/p>\n “Over 50% of TymeBank’s customers are older than 35, which means many of them have had an existing banking relationship for at least 20 years \u2013 but are willing to give new banks a try.<\/p>\n “We’ve also observed the rising trend of people who are multi-banked, which is made possible by account aggregation technology that allows customers to safely see all their bank accounts on a single screen. Multi-banked consumers are utilising the ability to compare banking fees and benefits in order to tailor their own banking experience.”<\/p>\n
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