Paying with a tap‚ fraud alert and fingerprint ID‚ all now in SA

Banking technology innovator First National Bank on Wednesday unveiled its Banking App 5.0‚ with a range of digital firsts in Africa including contact-less purchases‚ fingerprint ID as well anti-fraud features.

Jacques Celliers‚ FNB CEO‚ says the App's intuitive new features are a gateway into the future of banking.

According to the bank‚ a pioneering feature of App 5.0 is FNB Pay‚ a globally accepted contactless payment solution which allows customers to purchase goods below R200 by simply tapping their smartphone on a contactless enabled point of sale terminal - without entering their card PIN.

With fraud being a global concern for clients that use digital platforms‚ the new Smart InContact feature notifies customers of transactions as low as one cent‚ the bank says‚ with full control to report fraud with 1-touch of the Smart inContact notification to the 24/7 FNB Fraud line.

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Smart inContact also replaces SMS OTPs as a secure way to approve‚ reject or report fraud for any Online Banking transactions‚ the bank says. Logins from unknown or suspicious devices also trigger a Smart inContact notification for the customer to verify or reject the device.

This is built off the existing intelligence of FNB’s systems to notify customers of potentially risky transactions or devices accessing their profiles‚ allowing them take control to approve or reject these transactions.

App users can now also authenticate themselves through Fingerprint ID available to both Android and iPhone owners‚ which uses a fingerprint sensor to verify the user before giving access to the account profile.

FNB clients who qualify for premier and private banking services will also be able to use Secure Chat to enquire about services or send instructions to their private banking support team‚ all done through the App after securely logging in. "Secure Chat gives customers 24/7 banking support without the risks of phishing or identity theft."

Another new element is the FNB Watch App‚ which extends key features of the FNB Banking App onto an Android or Apple smartwatch.

“All these features have enhanced the FNB Banking App both from a functionality and most importantly‚ security point of view‚" says Raj Makanjee‚ FNB Premium CEO.