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the legwork in the early stages of the proj-
ect, the introduction of a full banking chan-
nel now takes just three months from start
to finish, says Vrey. New products can be
introduced ‘without excessive work or cus-
tomisation’.
This degree of efficiency is in part due
to Absa’s customer-interface which sees
cash transaction flows being replicated
across all the channels, going to a middle-
ware layer based on IBM’s Websphere. This
is directly interfaced to the bank’s ATM/POS
network platform built around ACI’s
Base24-eps.
The positive feedback from Absa’s top
management on all that has been done to
date indicates to Vrey that ‘the penny has
Crossing the divide
Absa Bank’s channel policy is to build bridges. It’s long-term and it’s led by technology, but are there any gaps?
MULTI-CHANNEL BANKINGCASE STUDY: ABSA BANK
simultaneously if necessary.
When it comes to mobile banking, Absa
was an early adopter, launching its mobile
banking offering in 2000, this being carried
on the framework of the bank’s internet
offering. The first mobile phone-based
banking service was launched in 1997 by
Merita Bank in (no surprise here) Finland.
Both services used SMS. When a decision
was made by Absa some five years after its
mobile launch to move into the Web 2.0
space, ‘it took us less than six months to
create the required interface, as we could
use a lot of the existing capability’. This suit-
ably short timeframe highlights the efficacy
of the bank’s channel policy.
Indeed, having done the research and
Absa Bank ‘is not afraid of pushing the
envelope’ when it comes to innovating,
states Christo Vrey, managing executive of
the South African bank’s digital channels
division. It’s all well and good making such
claims, but sustaining the effort beyond
a few noteworthy wins is quite another
matter.
In this respect, Absa has ensured it has
the walk to go with the talk, having imple-
mented a long-term banking channels
strategy which it adopted at the start of
this millennium and which is still in action.
From the outset, Absa – a part of Bar-
clays Group – has insisted on adopting only
those technologies that can be interfaced
and developed ‘in a way that enables the
availability of products and
services across all channels’,
states Vrey. The important
thing is that it has adhered to
this policy, even if, as he
admits, it has endured some
interesting ‘ups and downs’
on the way. ‘It’s a long jour-
ney that needs to be taken
step by step’, he says, adding
that the journey has to be
‘continuously sold to, and
communicated across, the
organisation’. But in the end,
the effort, the risk and the
sustained belief that what the
team was doing is right, has
paid off handsomely, giving
Absa a collection of integrat-
ed channels that enable its
customers to reach into the
bank – and the bank to reach
out to its customers – from a
number of different points,
© 2011 IBS Intelligence1 www.ibsintelligence.com
secure’, he says. The recipient receives an
SMS with a ten-digit code (originated by
the system) and information about the
transfer amount. The recipient then receives
another SMS (or a phone call) from the
sender with another code, this time a six-
digit one, generated by the sender. All the
recipient needs to do then is to input the
two corresponding codes and the exact
amount into any one of Absa’s domestic
ATMs and the money will be distributed
from the machine. Meanwhile, the sender
and the bank can trace the full transaction
history if any dispute arises. According to
Absa’s statistics, by mid-2011 the CashSend
service was presiding over at least 100,000
transactions per month, with the equivalent
of more than $81 million being transferred.
‘The CashSend functionality has opened up
multiple user experiences,’ states Vrey. Typi-
cal small sums such as payments to labour-
ers for services such as gardening and
housework, or parents giving money to
children can be facilitated, this making it
usable by banked and unbanked alike. In
the spirit of inclusivity, the CashSend service
has now also been extended to SMEs. Cash-
Send Plus, as it is known, enables small
business owners to pay their staff, via an
ATM, using the same principle as for retail
customers. Absa is not due to rest on this
one anytime soon: it is also pondering
international expansion, says Vrey. Whilst
the regulatory side of the cross-border ven-
ture is ‘extremely complicated and limiting’,
there are, he comments, no obstacles in
terms of technology and capability. This
comes as part of Absa’s desire to cross any
divide it meets, be it geographical, social or
technological.
really dropped’. Their continued support
certainly vindicates the channel team’s
efforts and steadfast approach. ‘A truly
multi-channel remote banking offering is
the holy grail these days and I believe Absa
has managed to achieve it over the years,’
Vrey states. ‘Any transaction that is done
via one of our four channels – online,
mobile, self-service [such as ATM, POS or
kiosk] and messaging [SMS, email and fax]
– is immediately reflected across all of
them.’
Although linked, each has carved out a
well-defined place in the Absa service set.
The messaging channel, for example, is a
‘value-added service’, which allows cus-
tomers to keep track of their banking activ-
ity in real-time. Vrey cites the bank’s ‘Notify
Me’ service as an example of what is cur-
rently provided via this channel: customers
receive emails and/or SMS updates ‘on any
activity, on any account, anywhere in the
world’ within four seconds of a transaction
taking place. The obvious security value of
this service has seen it so far reach some
7.5 million subscribers, resulting in the
bank delivering more than 100 million SMS
messages a month, he says.
Absa is a long-standing customer of
ACI Worldwide (the bank has been working
with ACI since the mid-1990s). The ven-
dor’s current Base24-eps offering supports
the bank’s ATM/POS network and Tandem
processing platform. In true ‘in-for-the-
long-haul’ Absa style, there are no plans to
move away from ACI, says Allen Mahadeo,
head of the bank’s self-service channel.
There is good reason for keeping the faith
with ACI: the volume of transactions via
self-service channels exceeds 40 million per
month which, observes Mahadeo, ‘requires
a reliable and stable platform’. In addition,
he says Absa can call upon the experience
of a well-matured dedicated in-house team
that knows the solution and the vendor
inside out.
Absa’s jewel in its ATM crown is a card-
less service dubbed CashSend. This is sup-
ported by ACI software. CashSend was
introduced in 2008 and is available across
the bank’s domestic network of around
5800 ATMs. It enables retail customers to
make low-value payments to any individual
with a mobile phone in South Africa; the
recipient does not need to be an Absa
client. The payment can be originated
online, via a mobile device or at an ATM,
and the money can be withdrawn from any
Absa machine.
The main beneficiary of this service is
the unbanked of South Africa, notes Vrey.
Around half of the country’s population of
50 million falls into this category.
The process is necessarily ‘simple and
‘A truly multi-channelremote banking offering
is the holy grail these daysand I believe Absa has
managed to achieve it overthe years.’
Christo Vrey,Absa Bank
© 2011 IBS Intelligence 2www.ibsintelligence.com
Christo Vrey,Absa Bank
MULTI-CHANNEL BANKINGCASE STUDY: ABSA BANK
Publication: IBS Journal – global independent perspectiveon financial technology. Editor: Tanya Andreasyan. Thisarticle has been extracted from the IBS Journal Decem-ber 2011 – January 2012 issue 21.4. IBS Intelligence, atrading name of IBS Publishing Ltd. Registered office: IBS Publishing Limited, 8 Stade Street, Hythe, Kent,
CT21 6BE, UK. Registered in England and Wales No. 5365737 Tel. +44 1303 262 636
Fax. +44 1303 262 646 Email: [email protected]: www.ibsintelligence.com
© 2011 IBS Intelligence – Material may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission
of the publisher.