Standard Bank has launched a new service that will allow its high-value clients to interact with a team of bankers 24 hours a day using instant messaging (IM).
The platform is being provided by WeChat, the IM system developed by China’s Tencent, in which Naspers has a one-third stake.
The idea, said Standard Bank head of retail banking Sibongiseni Ngundze, is to provide faster and more efficient service to customers.
Ngundze said in a statement that the new service is “like adding your personal banker to your messaging ‘friend list’ and having them available to you 24/7/365, just like many of your existing personal relationships”.
To access the service, Prestige and Private customers must phone or e-mail their bankers, or speak to someone in a branch and provide their WeChat ID before being taken through a verification process, after which they will be registered. They then log in to WeChat and search “Standard Bank” under “official accounts”.
To entice Standard Bank customers to sign up, it is offering 3GB of free Wi-Fi, valid for three months, valid at AlwaysOn hotspots. — © 2015 NewsCentral Media
