Zambia First National Bank (FNB) has forecast a potential 62% growth of the Zambia mobile banking space in 2014 as a result of the combination of an increase in the use of mobile phones and a push from the Zambia financial sector to reach the unbanked population.
Statistics from the Zambia central bank indicate that mobile banking has surpassed traditional banking with mobile money accounts now totaling 3.4 million as compared to 2 million traditional bank accounts.
According to Clotilda Mulenga, FNB head of strategic marketing and communications, FNB customers are actually beginning to conduct transactions on their mobile devices rather than simply verifying their account balances or statements.
“The increasing convergence between mobile phone and banking technology for communication, banking and shopping means more of our customers are using their devices for their banking business,” she said.
In addition to its branches in Zambia, South Africa-based FNB also operates in Swaziland, Botswana, and Namibia with services including online banking, Forex, home loans and other financial products.