Mobile banking leading bank’s digital transactions: Fleming

The National Business

By CLARISSA MOI
MOBILE banking is the leading digital channel for Bank South Pacific (BSP) with over six million transactions a month, according to chief executive officer Robin Fleming.
He said a total of 89 per cent of the total banking transaction last year was via the bank’s digital service such as mobile banking, the BSP app and internet banking.
“BSP mobile banking *131# services continues to be the leading digital channel as customers can access real time payments, transfers and top-up services for mobile airtime, EasiPay and solar payments conveniently 24/7,” he said.
Fleming recently told The National when asked about the bank’s services that “customers used their phones or jumped online and processed 144 million digital transactions or 89 per cent of the total banking transaction in 2019 via a digital service such as the BSP mobile banking, BSP app and BSP internet banking.”
“BSP digital services allow customers the freedom to do most of their everyday banking where and when they want.”
Fleming said a mere 11 per cent of banking transactions were made within branches, predominantly around cash deposits, loan applications, card services and account maintenance.
“As more customers take up digital services, with the aim to drive customers from branches to electronic channels and improve customer experience in our branches, handling payments in cash and a cash dependent market remains a significant challenge to our branches in most of PNG.”
Fleming noted that the bank’s USSD (unstructured supplementary service data) mobile banking channel had over six million transactions a month compared to around 900,000 transactions a month at the branches.
“This is all the more impressive when you realise that only around 200,000 customers regularly use mobile banking services,” Fleming said.
“BSP will continue to educate our customers on the benefits of our USSD mobile banking service and also our mobile banking app for smartphone users.
“With lower cost and more reliable internet in 2020, BSP will promote more actively our internet banking platform for business and individuals which offers additional functionality and allows payrolls to be uploaded using internet banking efficiently without coming to the bank.”