MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: First National Bank (FNB) of South Africa, OK Zimbabwe Introduce Mobile Money Transfer Corridor

It is reported that the First National Bank (FNB), a subsidiary of South African financial services provider FirstRand Limited, has announced the launch of a mobile money transfer service between South Africa and Zimbabwe. The service is intended to target the 1.9 million Zimbabweans who are living and working in South Africa and transfer an average of ZAR 6.1 billion (USD 735 million) into Zimbabwe each year. FNB account holders in South Africa can transfer money via their mobile phones to recipients, who can collect their money at branches of OK Zimbabwe, a Zimbabwean retailer, in Harare and Bulawayo. If the money is not collected within 14 days, the sender receives a notification via text message (also known as Short Message Service (SMS)) and the funds are returned to his or her account. Transfer fees are charged in tiers with the sender paying a fee of ZAR 45 (USD 5) for the first ZAR 1,000 (USD 109) transferred, and ZAR 70 (USD 8) for amounts between ZAR 1,001 (USD 109) and ZAR 1,500 (USD 164). The sender pays no currency exchange fee, and there is no transaction cost for the recipient.

According data attributed to the World Bank, fees reduce by 20 percent the total amount of money transferred into Zimbabwe from South Africa each year. As of June 30, 2012, FirstRand Limited reports total assets of ZAR 770 billion (USD 87 billion), return on equity of 20.7 percent and return on assets of 1.73 percent. FirstRand Limited operates in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia.

By Brian LeBlanc, Research Associate

About FirstRand Limited

Founded in 1998, FirstRand Limited is a financial services provider based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It offers banking services through its subsidiaries: First National Bank (FNB) Botswana, FNB Lesotho, FNB Namibia, FNB South Africa, FNB Swaziland, FNB Tanzania and FNB Zambia. As of June 30, 2012, FirstRand Limited reports total assets of ZAR 770 billion (USD 87 billion), return on equity of 20.7 percent and return on assets of 1.73 percent.

Sources and Additional Information:

BusinessTech article, http://businesstech.co.za/news/banking/35218/fnb-takes-mobile-money-to-zim/

MicroCapital article, March 13, 2013, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara of Zimbabwe Urges Banks to Stop Seeking Legal Action Against Econet’s Ecocash Mobile Banking Service and Start Competing,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-deputy-prime-minister-mutambara-of-zimbabwe-urges-banks-to-stop-seeking-legal-action-against-econets-ecocash-mobile-banking-service-and-start-competing/

MicroCapital article, December 25, 2012. “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FirstRand Bank of South Africa Receives $300m Line of Credit from African Development Bank (AfDB),” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-firstrand-bank-of-south-africa-receives-300m-line-of-credit-from-african-development-bank-afdb/

MicroCapital article, December 20, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CBZ Bank, Econet Wireless Partner to Offer Mobile Banking in Zimbabwe,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-cbz-bank-econet-wireless-partner-to-offer-mobile-banking-in-zimbabwe/

MicroCapital article, November 21, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: First National Bank of Namibia Releases Mobile Money Service,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-firstrand-bank-of-south-africa-receives-300m-line-of-credit-from-african-development-bank-afdb/

MicroCapital Universe Profile: FirstRand Limited

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