A year-and-a-half into South Africa’s Covid-19 lockdown we’ve all adopted new habits to stay safe, but still get on with life. It’s the new normal. A new habit many have taken to with great enthusiasm is online banking. It’s super convenient to be able to do all your banking from home or your smart device without having to brave the crowds in branches and malls. 

You can expect the growth of digital banking options to continue, greatly improving your banking experience. You can look forward to the following:

Greater convenience

The Covid-19 lockdown forced some clients to make the leap to digital services for the very first time. Many of those who had resisted using basic services like online banking or online shopping, believing them to be ‘too difficult to understand’ or ‘unsafe’, have today become digitally savvy, transacting on their computers and mobile devices. Necessity is truly the mother of invention.

The pandemic made us realise that digitisation is an absolute business imperative for the banking industry

Digitisation affects the way we now pay with our cards. Take, for instance, contactless payments at the till. Nedbank clients already enjoy the convenience of tap on phone or Apple Pay options. All new debit and credit cards are fitted with the ability to pay using tap-and-go technology. All purchases below R500 don’t need a PIN, which speeds up payment and reduces everyone’s time in queues.

Many who previously resisted this (out of fear that it would make them vulnerable to theft) are now happily tapping and going because it means they don’t have to touch devices that could be contaminated.

Human-computer tag teams

For digital banking to work for you as a client, more and more client-related issues need to be resolved online. Gone are the days of having to phone a call centre or even visit a bank. Your queries can now be handled in virtual meetings via Skype or Zoom, which saves you valuable time.

Additionally, digital banking platforms already include helplines, so you can speak directly to staff at your financial services provider about any digital issues.

Exciting future innovations are on the way. Soon, you’ll also see many more self-service functions becoming available. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning tools will anticipate what you might need and allow you to activate those services.

The great benefit for clients is that you will have absolute control over anything – from opening and closing accounts to requesting a loan or managing credit limits.

Fast-tracked digitisation

The machine-enabled processing of users’ transactions is just a start to whole new digital banking experience. Very soon clients will be able to submit documentation in digital format. No need for physical documents and ink signatures anymore.

While the pandemic has been disruptive in many ways, it has made all of us realise that digitisation is no longer an option, but an absolute business imperative for the banking industry. The world of banking has been reimagined and digitisation is at the heart of it all. As a client, you don’t want to be left behind.