FNB simplifies digital payment experience

FNB has championed payments innovation and led the industry in bringing new digital card payments solutions to customers.

Considering the rapidly evolving digital payments landscape and with a view towards simplification, the bank has announced that it will be phasing out the FNB Tap to Pay feature in its banking app. 

“The discontinuation of FNB's Tap to Pay in-app feature is a focused change and we want to reassure our customers that there will be no effect to the use of contactless bank cards or other supported digital card wallet solutions such as Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, Garmin Pay, Fitbit Pay and Swatch Pay, as well as the FNB Scan to Pay feature in the banking app,” says Ashley Saffy, FNB Card’s head of Spend and Customer Value Management.

“We recognise that migrating to an alternative will initially pose an inconvenience to our valued customers, and to ensure a smooth transition, our main priority is to guide our customers through this migration over the next few weeks, leading up to the FNB Tap to Pay in-app feature switch-off on April 14.” 

The FNB Tap to Pay in-app feature was launched in the South African market in October 2016 as the first contactless Tap to Pay digital wallet in Africa.

“The decision to discontinue the FNB Tap to Pay feature in the banking app was not taken lightly since adoption has continued to grow,” says Jason Viljoen, FNB head of Card Digitisation.

“This decision was primarily driven by the widening choice of alternative digital card wallet solutions and a view to simplify the options available. The ability to add your card simply and securely to Google Wallet from within the Android banking app, coupled with the security features of our shared security framework enabling our supported alternative digital card wallet solutions, their market coverage, and the additional features they offer, were all key factors in this decision.

“The landscape of digital payments is rapidly evolving as the demand for new technology grows. Tech giants like Google, Samsung and Apple are continually enhancing user experiences and adding new functionality beyond contactless tapping via smartphone, such as wearable support, seamless e-commerce checkout experiences, passes, ticketing and so on,” says Viljoen.

“Our choice to sunset our home-grown solution is a move to simplify our payments ecosystem for our customers without compromising on security. We aim to reduce the decision-making burden of which wallet to use, while providing the most streamlined and efficient payment experiences available today. This transition reflects our commitment to innovation and customer-centricity.”

For more information on FNB's alternative digital card wallet solutions, visit the bank's website.

This article was sponsored by FNB.