Selfie banking: a snapshot of the future
WE’VE all had them, those moments when you it dawns on you in a flash of insight that you’re living in the future.
Using an automated teller machine (ATM) and making my first cellular phone call were two that stand out for me.
But as someone fortunate enough to write about gadgets and technology, it seems I’m experiencing these moments more often than ever these days.
One of those occasions was this past Wednesday when First National Bank (FNB) launched a slew of innovations. The headline act, opening an account by snapping a selfie, could have been culled from a plot of satirical sci-fi series Black Mirror. But, no, it’s real and banking will never be the same again.
Like most good examples of advanced tech, it’s deceptively simple to use. Fire up the app, answer a few questions, snap that selfie and within minutes you’ve got an account – or in banking jargon, you’re “onboarded”.
But behind the digital curtains, a fantastically complex process is under way, with advanced algorithms pulling in data from numerous sources, including the Department of Home Affairs, to verify your identity and financial status, and comparing this to the info you’ve provided, your location via the phone’s GPS and a whole lot of other data points the bank’s staying mum about.
Cynics may dismiss this as gimmick designed to garner publicity and there’s no doubt that FNB is a master at marketing itself. But this ploy only works over the long term if there’s some substance behind the products being punted, and even the most sceptical will find it hard to dispute FNB’S track record of banking sector innovation, from its ground-breaking banking app to more recent fin-tech style offerings like its mobile phone-based ewallets.
And selfie onboarding was just one of the innovations announced this past week. Another that appeals to me as someone who does a lot of my work out of coffee shops using third-party QR code-based apps like Zapper and Masterpass to pay for my caffeine boost, is that FNB will soon allow its customers to pay any of these through its own app, eliminating the need to juggle a host of payment apps.
The bank is already ahead of the game when it comes to the “wearables” trend, with its app available on both Apple and Android watches.
Now it plans to expand its reach to fitness trackers from the likes of Garmin and Fitbit, allowing users of these devices to pay for items simply by tapping them at compatible pointof-sale machines as you would with a tap-and-pay bank card.
Then there’s nav>> Money which will help customers stay on top of their financial health, by tracking their spending and available funds as well as monitoring their credit status – for the latter, FNB assess various
ut you than probably any other organisation, the bank gets to tap into a nearbottomless well of opportunity.
When you value your house using FNB’S service, the bank knows you may be interested in selling it and buying another and can offer you some attractive services and home loan packages. Ka-ching.
When you search for flights and accommodation using ebucks Travel’s expanded service, FNB gets to offer you some discounted options from its hand-picked travel partners. Ka-ching. FNB calls this “contextually helpful”. The more cynically minded may call it creepy.
Celliers stressed that the bank would not abuse its customers’ trust by crossing the line from helpful to spammy and intrusive, but with the aforementioned Facebook and Uber hardly shining examples in this regard, you could be forgiven for remaining sceptical.
I, for one, trusts Celliers a lot more than his social media counterpart, Mark Zuckerberg. And before you call me naïve, it’s not because I think he’s a paragon of virtue, although I’m sure he’s an honourable man. No, I trust him because, unlike Facebook, FNB is bound by a battery of local and international banking and privacy protection regulations.
When Zuck allowed my personal data to be sold off to Russian election riggers, the worst he had to endure was a laughably ill-informed and ineffectual bout of questioning from US lawmakers. If FNB did the same, Celliers would face jail time or a hefty fine at the least.
I’m not an FNB customer but
I’m still hugely excited by these innovations. Other banks, my own included, are sure to follow suit, making for a more user-friendly banking experience.
The author William Gibson famously said: “The future is already here – it’s just not very evenly distributed”. Opening an account using a selfie, gimmick or not, is another step towards distributing that future more evenly to all of us.
Follow Alan Cooper on Twitter @alanqcooper.