03 August 2020 –The COVID-19 global pandemic has left many South Africans anxious about their state of health as well as their financial security. Many South Africans have lost their jobs with some working on reduced hours, resulting in a reduction in household income.
Chief Executive of FNB Easy, Philani Potwana, says to alleviate some of the financial pressures, consumers should fully utilise the free benefits they receive from their banks. These benefits could free up much needed cash in consumers’ wallets, if taken advantage of.
Below, Potwana highlights some of the free benefits of holding an FNB Easy bank account. These benefits are available to consumers depending on their account type but are designed to ensure FNB consumers realise real help from the bank.
Free cash withdrawals
FNB realises that although there’s an important drive to migrate cash to card transactions, the majority of the South African population still requires to utilise cash for various reasons such as paying for taxi fares. With this in mind, FNB has made available free cash withdrawals at selected supermarket tills such as Shoprite, Checkers USave, Pick n Pay and selected SPAR stores. And should you hold an FNB Smart Option account, you can withdraw cash up to R2000 per month for free at FNB ATMs.
Buy prepaid airtime for free
Potwana elaborates that they have observed that generally, consumers who earn less than R7000 per month often purchase small value of airtime and data more than once during the month. “Most banks will charge for these types of transactions but true to our value systems, we wanted to ensure our customers are not left with multiple bank charges for these transactions. From July 2020, FNB Easy customers are now able to purchase prepaid airtime and data for free, using their preferred digital channels such as the FNB App and cellphone banking.”
Use your free send money transactions
Sending or receiving money via an electronic wallet is one of the ever-popular features that is used by South African consumers. Consumers have over the years come accustomed to using eWallets to send money to their loved ones across the country. FNB Easy Smart Option account holders can enjoy 2 free eWallet sends per month using the FNB App, which, if withdrawn at selected supermarket tills, will be free.
Free card swipes
Card swipes have been free for years. We therefore encourage consumers to rather swipe their cards than to use cash. Swiping your card is much safer than using cash and one can also avoid cash withdrawal fees in this manner. More and more leading retailers are adopting smarter ways to pay, such as tapping your card to ensure that you can safely pay without the card leaving your hand.
Free App usage
FNB helps you bank safely and securely at the comfort of your home, 24/7. We found it important to zero-rate App transactions for our customers. This simply means that customers using the FNB App do not incur any data fees for any transactions. Our zero-rated banking App is equipped to provide you with full banking functionality such as making payments, prepaid airtime and data purchases, prepaid electricity purchases, sending money to an eWallet, checking balances and requesting statements for free.
Free data, voice minutes & SMSs
We help you stretch your money to go even further by maximising on Free FNB Connect offerings. With your Easy Smart Option account, you get up to 300 MB free data, 30 voice minutes and 30 SMS allocations on your FNB Connect SIM each month giving you more value.
Free medical, legal and financial Advice
Since 2019, consumers who hold the Easy Smart Option account are offered 24-hour telephonic professional medical advice from a team of registered nurses to help manage chronic, life-threatening, maternity and other everyday medical conditions. These customers also get access to basic financial planning, debt management, garnishee support, and debt counselling from qualified financial advisors. This value-added service includes telephonic assistance by professional attorneys and paralegals to advise consumers on wills, pension, third-party claims and labour matters.
“We continue to embark on our South African unique, financial services journey with our customers. We aim to ensure affordable and transparent financial services to assist customers manage their income effectively. We recognise that most households have irregular monthly income, so our financial solutions have encompassed the human story of our country. Despite the prevailing challenges, we believe there’s an opportunity for all customers to get maximum value from their banking relationship.” concludes Potwana.
INFO SUPPLIED BY FNB.
Pic sourced from news 24 files.
