The number of cellphone banking users in South Africa more than doubled in the past year, according to research released by World Wide Worx on Tuesday.
“This year was a tipping point for all aspects of mobile,” World Wide Worx managing director Arthur Goldstuck told reporters in Johannesburg.
The so-called Mobility 2007 study showed that the number of respondents saying they used their cellphones for banking services increased from eight percent last year to 17 percent this year.
Banking clients mainly used cellphones for balance enquiries but nearly 55 percent of respondents said they had made transfers via their mobile phones. Most mobile purchases, however, were for prepaid airtime top-ups.
“Just as cellphone banking only began showing substantial growth when it became extremely simple to use, so mobile payments must first overcome numerous obstacles, including access to the service and ease of use. But research shows that, if the channel gets it right, the market is ready,” said Goldstuck.
The research, sponsored by First National Bank, showed that ABSA banking group enjoyed the most cellphone banking users with 34 percent penetration in 2007, followed by FNB and Standard Bank with 26 percent and 25 percent penetration respectively. Nedbank enjoys 11 percent penetration.
The study also showed a slow-down in email access on cellphones, mainly due to an increase in the number of 3G users, a cheap service that offers wireless broadband via mobile networks.
Goldstuck said users would rather use a 3G data card to download email from their laptops than go through a slower and more painful process on a cellphone.
Also, the arrival of 3G data cards could spell the end of the overly expensive WiFi, small networks that offer wireless access to the internet, sometimes for as much as R1 per minute.
“We have been warning for several years that commercial Wifi hotspots, especially in hotels, are in danger of pricing themselves out of the market,” said Goldstuck.
“Now a monthly subscription to a basic 3G service (for less than R100 per month) is cheaper than a few hours on most commercial hotspots,” he added.