First National Bank Botswana (FNBB) has established itself as the country’s leading driver of innovation and investing in financial inclusion to help more Batswana realise their aspirations beyond simple access to transactional banking services.
FNBB is Botswana’s largest commercial bank by balance sheet, footprint and customer volumes. Over the years, the Bank has leveraged this market-leading position by ensuring that mainstream financial access reaches the most underserved and unserved corners of the country.
Financial inclusion in Botswana is a priority recognised by Government as a challenge to the broad-based expansion of economic activities and opportunities. Several studies over the years have shown that large sections of the population do not have access to formal banking services, limiting the critical financial intermediation role that these institutions play in boosting economic development.
In 2012, the inaugural Global Findex Database, a groundbreaking global study, provided the first authoritative look at the level of banking access in Botswana, finding out that two out of three adults did not have bank accounts. In 2015, three years later, the second edition of the study found that 48 percent were still unbanked.
According to the World Bank, the importance of financial inclusion cannot be overstated.
“Financial access facilitates day-to-day living, and helps families and businesses plan for everything from long-term goals to unexpected emergencies.
“As accountholders, people are more likely to use other financial services, such as credit and insurance, to start and expand businesses, invest in education or health, manage risk, and weather financial shocks, which can improve the overall quality of their lives,” the World Bank says.
Broadly speaking, the challenges around spreading financial inclusion for many countries include the limitation of physical infrastructure based banking, low financial literacy, costs of accessing services and others. Botswana is unique in that it has a small population spread across a wide geographic space featuring remote and harsh terrains, which makes investing in physical banking infrastructure costly both in capital and operating costs.
As a market leader, FNBB has innovated and invested around financial inclusion through its Bricks to Clicks strategy, formulated more than a decade ago. The strategy has encompassed a deliberate shift to using technology to expand its reach beyond physical branches and Automated Teller Machines.
Rather than being just a catchy phrase, the Bricks to Clicks strategy has involved building a culture of innovating around products that can spread financial inclusion and boost value for customers, under the “How Can We Help You” philosophy.
“One of FNBB’s strategic focus is to continuously penetrate areas where the Bank has no presence with its Brick to Clicks strategy which is well aligned to maximise the benefits of technology while simplifying the lives of customers,” FNBB CEO, Steven Lefentse Bogatsu said previously while accepting a Euromoney Award for Excellence.
Between 2010 and 2015, the award winning strategy delivered several market-firsts such as internet banking, cellphone banking, eWallet, *174# mobile transact, *186# payment platform, online shopping payment gateway, FNB App and ATMs with deposits.
Between 2016 and 2021, FNBB launched eWallet Bulk Send for business, Mogwebi Business Insurance, Bank on Wheels (mobile branches), Cashback Rewards, CashPlus, Enhanced eWallet with eWallet@Till, FX Bulk uploads and also introduced Signature Credit Card and Multi-Currency Card.
In 2022 alone, FNBB has introduced FX on App, Rewards on App, Credit and debit card maintenance on App and FNB Funeral Plan for individual customers.
The investment in innovation towards financial inclusion has been reflected in the results of more recent financial inclusion surveys. The FinScope Consumer Survey launched last year by the Ministry of Finance found that 1.29 million adults, or about 80% of adults, were recorded as financially included in 2020, a dramatic turnaround from the results of previous studies.
Much of the success has been built on the country’s expanding Information Technology infrastructure, which has seen fixed broadband subscriptions explode from 17,196 in March 2012 to 111,851 in March 2022.
The growth has been even more phenomenal in mobile broadband subscriptions, the primary Internet access tool used by Batswana. Here, the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority indicates that subscriptions have risen from 1.18 million in March 2012 to 2.43 million in March 2022, the latter figure representing a subscription density above the national population of 2.3 million.
The same growth in teledensity can be seen in mobile phone subscriptions which rose from 2.95 million in March 2012 to about 4.2 million in March 2022, indicating a trend where individuals hold more than one mobile service subscription.
The result has been that FNBB’s investment in innovation has been able to anchor on the growth in Internet and cellphone coverage, bringing banking access and add-on services closer to more and more Batswana.
The award-winning FNB App, Africa’s first banking app, has proven wildly popular over the years, becoming the primary interface that existing and new customers use to access the array of services and products continuously being rolled out by FNBB.
In the past 12 months, at Africa group level, the App recorded over three billion transactions and 1.6 billion digital interactions, making it a continental leader in fintech and banking access.
In Botswana the results of the investment in innovation has been clearly seen in the uptake of the various solutions FNBB has introduced into the market.
“We have successfully extended banking services to more remote locations through CashPlus (and) our CashPlus outlets grew by 81%, while CashPlus transaction volumes increased by 137% to the value of P 1.9 billion,” says Bogatsu.
“The Bank also continues to register growth across all digital platforms as customers appreciate the ease of electronic transactions as well as the option to serve themselves in the form of convenient, value -added service. “Ninety-six percent of our customers use one of our digital channels with 44% taking usage of the FNB App.”
FNBB however has not rested on its laurels and continues to further innovate, moving beyond simple transactional banking services and into solutions that help individuals, families and businesses realise their dreams and aspirations.
Recently, the Bank launched a new brand vision, a major continent-wide rebrand that unveiled a suite of value-added services on the App and other customer-centric transformations across the bank.
“We aspire to be a trusted partner helping customers, their families, and their businesses thrive and achieve their goals through positive changes in financial behaviour,” says FNB CEO, Jacques Celliers.
“To this end, we want to make it easy for our customers to free up cashflow through best value for money solutions that make their money go further to realise their investment and insurance needs in line with their goals.
“We want to help customers through various life stages for themselves, their families and their businesses, and to ensure we advise them on the right solutions for their needs.”
FNB is focused on being advice-led, rather than product-led in the delivery of its solutions. In its journey to transition beyond banking, it is striving to become an integrated advice partner connecting the dots between their customers’ day to day activities and their aspirations and goals. The Bank continues to build competitive investment, insurance, lifestyle and business solutions to best deliver to customers’ goals. This is all underpinned by the ease and safety of its platform and extensive network of advisors.
The FNB App has been redesigned to offer even more intuitive help through its ease of use and a safer digital experience.
“We have listened to our customers and have set out on a journey of a new user experience underpinned by personalisation. “Customers can now personalise their FNB App by customising its home screen and selecting frequently used or preferred features. “Customers can also view a snapshot of their transactional accounts, credit, investments, insurance, and value-added services. “In addition, the search function has been improved to help customers find services much quicker.
“Similar enhancements are being made to the internet banking channel,” Celliers says.
The changes enable consumers to easily understand, and use the extended offerings while creating a seamless digital user experience across interfaces, ensuring an unmatched customer experience.
Going forward, FNBB has placed supporting homegrown solutions and innovations as a strategic priority area. Part of this includes continuing to provide an accelerating environment where employees can share ideas and innovate in a thriving and evolving workplace.
Another part, is the partnership between the FNBB Foundation and the Botswana Digital and Innovation Hub (BDIH) to support and develop homegrown innovative solutions. The partnership was initiated to provide funding opportunities to eligible entities and encourage the participation of start-ups in solving new challenges posed by COVID-19. Start-ups benefit from technical advice, coaching, mentorship, access to markets, access to partner programmes, office space, subsidised corporate tax, a special dispensation of the import of skilled personnel and many other tailored interventions to help them grow.
Innovation has been at the heart of FNBB’s approach to banking and financial inclusion, helping propel it to a market leader in Botswana. Going forward, innovation will ensure that FNBB remains the trusted partner for many Batswana looking to realise dreams for themselves, their families, businesses and the economy.
“COVID-19 reminded us that risk is almost always accompanied by opportunity, and there is plenty of opportunities ahead. Botswana remains an attractive, business-friendly investment destination,” says Bogatsu.
“Government has a plan, which we fully support, to address economic vulnerability by diversifying into other growth sectors. “FNBB’s resilience is founded on a strong capital base, a maturing risk management system and a loyal customer base. “We recognise that it is necessary to find new ways of staying ahead competitively and we monitor change and our customers’ responses constantly to ensure that our strategy keeps us relevant and competitive.”
