Len Pienaar, CEO of First National Bank’s M-Commerce division, has resigned from the financial services institution. Pienaar is relocating from Johannesburg to Cape Town, where he will join bulk SMS specialist Clickatell on 1 February.
Pienaar, who will be responsible for product development at Clickatell, oversaw the development of FNB cellphone banking services like InContact. In December, R1bn worth of transactions were carried over FNB’s mobile banking infrastructure.
He says his decision to quit FNB was “lifestyle related”.
With Pienaar’s departure, the bank’s m-commerce division is being split into two business units: cellphone services (including traditional cellphone banking and prepaid services like prepaid electricity and Internet data) and smart services (new products).
Cellphone services will be headed by Ravesh Ramlakan and smart services by Yolande van Wyk, both of whom have worked with Pienaar for several years.
FNB’s cellphone banking division employs about 150 people and provides services in six countries in southern Africa.
Pienaar says impact that cellphone services have had on banking will affect other industries, and his move to Clickatell will allow him to explore new opportunities. — Duncan McLeod, TechCentral
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