SPONSOREDIn the current Covid-19 environment,connectivity has proved more critical than ever. With the accelerated transferof social interaction, education, and commerce from the physical to the virtualworld, demand for online capabilities has skyrocketed, fuelling dramaticincreases in network traffic and data usage.
This shift to doing everything online hasseen companies across almost every industry fast-track their digital transformationefforts. But access to connectivity is required in driving adoption of digitalisedservices.
The growing demand for onlinecommunication, streaming and education has lifted demand for mobile virtualnetwork operators (MVNOs). Various companies across sectors including financialservices are collaborating with network providers to unlock added value forcustomers, and to enable connectivity to digitalised services that now form acritical part of our everyday lives.
What is a MVNO?
MVNOs are companies that do not own amobile network but rent capacity on an existing network instead.
They purchase this capacity in bulk and, asa result, can negotiate much better rates from the network owner than anindividual consumer could, which means that MVNOs can pass this price benefitonto their own customers.
Why would a bank become a MVNO?
Banks are seeking to digitalise theirservices but to use these services, clients require connectivity. Operating a MVNO enables the bank to packageconnectivity with their digital services, at a very low cost or even for free,helping customers access these digital services more effectively.
This allows banks to package mobileproducts together with banking products, which makes sense for them to do so asit makes it easier for customers to access their services. That said, it isalso within the interest of financial services providers to ensure thatcustomers can connect to their services at the lowest possible cost. Banks can do thisby passing on pricing benefits of buying in bulk from telecoms networks totheir customers.
It then makes sense for customers to buy theirmobile and banking services together, because it is cheaper to do so.
Another reason MVNOs make sense for companies is their focus onpersonalisation. The large mobile operators generally offer one-size-fits-allpackages. While some may be satisfied with a generic plan, an increasing numberof individuals want something that is more tailored to their specific needs.
Therefore, having a MVNO enables the bankto package products to clients' needs, instead of the one-size-fits-all productfrom an existing operator.
Standard Bank has created an ecosystem ofcustom developed airtime and data solutions, tied into clients' banking.
This is because we understand that everyoneneeds to bank, and that everyone needs to be connected to participate in an increasinglyinter-connected world where we are consuming massive amounts of data. In thelast 18 months, the number of customers making use of Standard Bank's MobileMoney offering has trebled.
Customers who subscribe to Standard BankMobile can access rewards including:
- Receiving your monthly bank feeback in airtime.
- Free data every time you swipeyour credit or debit card.
- Up to 2 GB data free each monthif you are also a member of the UCount Rewards Programme.
As South Africans turn to the internet forcritical purposes, device access has become essential, but the reality is thatvery few can fork out the cash for a new device. Instead, you can buy a phonefrom the Standard Mobile by using the budget facility on your credit card andpay it off over 24 months. This often results in a cheaper monthly payment thanan equivalent 24-month contract with one of the network providers.
Enabling connectivity is critical to financialservices and economic growth
In the broader financial services industry,there is an increasing convergence with telecommunications, and vice versa. Asbanks continue to ramp up the digitalisation of their services, a telecomscapability becomes essential.
Ultimately, promoting access to financialservices requires promoting access to connectivity. The two fit together. Inthe old days, you visited a branch to conduct banking. Now, almost everybanking activity can be managed via your phone. To provide more people withaccess to banking services, we must enable access to connect with the bank viatelecommunications. This will ultimately help to bring more people into thefinancial system, and to drive economic growth in SA and across the rest of theAfrican continent.
