Financial services provider FNB has launched a new service, FNB AgencyPlus, to expand access to basic banking services and cash in close proximity to both unbanked and underbanked individuals in townships and other regional communities.

AgencyPlus provides a way for individuals to deposit cash into an FNB account and withdraw cash from their FNB account or eWallet at a local shop or small business registered as an AgencyPlus agent.

Users can also buy airtime and electricity through the solution. Banking services are provided at agent stores through the FNB App or cellphone banking.

Already, FNB has 70 active agents in various regional communities across the country, including in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.

Later this month, FNB aims to onboard Spar Utrecht in KwaZulu-Natal and Engen Potchefstroom in North West as AgencyPlus agents.

“AgencyPlus is an ability for a store to register itself as an agent. What does that allow you to do? It means that your customers, or people in the community, can come into your store to deposit and/or withdraw money from their FNB account.

“It also allows people to withdraw their eWallet instead of having to make their way to a traditional bank branch or ATM,” FNB Business CEO Andiswa Bata said at a launch event in Tembisa on April 2.

The service also allows the customer to first buy airtime and electricity and only cash out the difference, so that they carry less cash.

“It also allows other businesses in the area to come in and essentially deposit and cash out as and when they need. The key thing here is that we're effectively helping with the recycling of cash closer to where people live, do business, and learn, to avoid having to travel to the closest other point of presence,” Bata explained.

She said part of the deal with agent stores was that FNB would professionalise the look of their storefronts with FNB branding.

“There is something to be said about having the FNB brand outside your store – something that draws people in with a trusted lens,” Bata said.

She explained that agents would also benefit from commission for being part of the programme.

“With this AgencyPlus solution, we're not taking it for granted that we're taking up space within our customers’ stores. There will be a commission-paying arrangement with the businesses because we understand that there must be something in it for them to participate,” she said.

FNB Points of Presence CEO Zibu Nqala added that, in addition to earning commission, agent stores would benefit from increased footfall.

“We are also helping to drive more footfall into these agent shops, because while customers are there to withdraw or deposit, they may remember that they forgot to buy milk, need to get some bacon, or whatever the case may be.”

“Through this partnership, we extend the spaces where our customers can interact and access some of the most common transactions they conduct on a day-to-day basis,” she said.

AgencyPlus also reduces the need for agents to hold excess cash on-site, saving valuable time and money, as the agent will have a reduced need to travel to a bank branch to deposit their earnings.

Nqala said that the majority of the AgencyPlus branches FNB planned to open would be in townships and underprivileged communities.

“We are looking to expand AgencyPlus across the country so that more of our entrepreneurs, business owners, and customers can benefit. By the end of June, we will definitely have more than 100 of these open, and in the next year, we are looking to grow aggressively,” she said.

Nqala said that the AgencyPlus product was in line with FNB’s alternative distribution channel strategy, which combines its nationwide branch network, extensive ATM footprint, and the inclusion of its newly introduced kiosks in Pick n Pay.