Absa customers may soon be able to negotiate new overdrafts, finance cars and make cash deposits at their branches on Sundays, if a trial run at two Gauteng branches is anything to go by.
In a move unique in banking circles in South Africa, Absa, South Africa’s largest retail bank, opened two of its biggest and busiest branches last Sunday to test the waters and see how customers responded to full-service banking on a day bank branches have never before been open.
Branches in Menlyn shopping centre in Pretoria and Eastgate in Bedfordview offered total banking services last Sunday as part of a pilot scheme that, if successful, will see the concept rolled out to branches in other busy business centres throughout the country.
Client response was overwhelming.
“Customers and business owners in the shopping complexes were delighted,” says Jaco Grobler, managing executive of delivery channel Services at Absa.
“The initiative came about after many requests from Absa customers wanting access to financial services and products on non-traditional banking days.
“One of our stated objectives is to be a partner in growing South Africa’s prosperity by being the country’s leading financial services group, and to do that we need to provide the service our clients want. That includes making it possible for them to bank when they need to,” Grobler says.
“We believe by extending banking hours to Sundays we will contribute to the safety of our business customers in shopping malls. There are many enterprises, for example restaurants, that carry large amounts of cash on Sundays, that at the moment can’t be banked until the next day.”
Despite the fact that Sunday trading has been around for many years, Absa management was aware of the possibility it could still be a sensitive issue.
“The initiative was preceded by consultations with a variety of stakeholders, including faith-based organisations, workers’ unions and businesses, to see how they felt,” says Louis von Zeuner, Absa group executive director.
“Everyone we spoke to was completely comfortable about the idea.
“The branches concerned will open from 10am to 2pm on Sundays to allow clients to attend church services first, should they so wish.
“In addition, we believe the new operating hours will be more convenient to people who hold other days of the week sacred.”
Absa branch staff members appear to have wholeheartedly bought into the concept, as working on Sundays will be purely voluntary.
“When it comes to customer service, this initiative will give us a unique advantage over our competitors,” says Hanlie Britz, Absa general manager for Gauteng. “It also gives us the opportunity to show how we can go above and beyond our customers’ expectations.”
However, in addition to catering to client needs, Sunday banking makes good business sense for the giant banking group.
Absa first tested extended trading hours on Saturdays in branches (all in shopping centres) during the course of last year and found more transactions were done at those branches. There was also significant growth in the number of accounts.
“A better quality of business was generated after normal business hours,” says Von Zeuner. — I-Net Bridge