First National Bank (FNB) has announced that, through a pro-active approach and a basket of innovative products, it has secured the prestigious bank account of the South African Parliament.
According to Modise Moatlhodi, public-sector banking CEO for FNB, the bank took cognisance of the fact that government accounts usually go out to tender every few years and took of the opportunity to prepare ahead of time.
“At FNB, we apply a proactive approach in our efforts to deliver service that exceeds the customer’s expectations. Hence, we were ready well in advance, edging out our competitors.”
Furthermore, through its extensive portfolio of products and leading technology, FNB was well positioned to provide a service that addresses all the needs of Parliament.
Parliament has approximately 1 300 people in its employ, which includes members as well as officials. The approximate budget of Parliament is in the range of R1-billion for this financial year.
The acquisition of the Parliament account is strategic for FNB and is a gateway to the rest of the public sector in South Africa.
“A key focus for Parliament is cash management, as well as accessibility of funds via ATMs [automatic teller machines]. With unique systems such as the Mini-ATM and our business internet banking, FNB has addressed all its requirements,” says Moatlhodi.
Notably, Parliament will be using FNB’s BankIT offering, which allows rapid and effective internet-enabled business banking with the highest levels of security and a fully auditable system.
He notes that BankIT introduces client digital certificates to South African banking for the first time. A digital certificate is a digital signature that binds an individual to a transaction and is an additional method of authentication to prevent misuse of funds.
“Parliamentary users of the system will use their digital certificates and private keys to digitally sign off transactions, a mechanism that is used over and above the normal user ID and password used for logon purposes.
“Digital certificates therefore provide irrefutable evidence of who was responsible for which transaction,” says Moatlhodi.
Meanwhile, the unique Mini-ATM system will alleviate the difficulties of parliamentarians needing to draw money by providing an easily accessible service within the building.
FNB is a division of FirstRand Bank Limited. — I-Net Bridge