Banking and financial services

Digital banking is on the rise.

Embalenhle has a new Ubank branch. Situated at the Mall@ Emba, the branch will serve customers from Secunda and other areas such as those that used to bank at a branch at the Kinross mine, which has been closed.

In line with modern trends towards digital banking, the new Ubank branch has internal and external facing digital walls. The screens promote new products and campaigns, give customers information and provide financial education. A feature that is designed to support local artists is the Feature Wall.

All of the big retail banks (Nedbank, Absa, Standard Bank, Capitec and First National Bank) are present in the province’s major towns. Agriculture is an important focus area for banks, and most have specialised divisions such as Nedbank Agribusiness.

TWK Agri offers financing and insurance together with the usual suite of agricultural services. Afgri, one of the country’s biggest agricultural companies, offers financial services (financing and insurance) under the brand Unigro. It has another service called Gro Capital Financial Services which offers more complicated products.

Another source of funding for farmers is the Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa (Land Bank), a developmentfinance institution that falls under the Ministry of Finance. Standard Bank has a new black economic empowerment agricultural fund designed to support emerging farmers. The R500-million fund is designed to connect farmers who have received farms in land reform projects to agri-businesses that will buy their produce.

The first new banking licence in nearly two decades was issued in 2017, to TymeDigital. The bank has no physical branches although Tyme’s Money Transfer product, which it launched in 2016, is available at Boxer and Pick n Pay. The banking licence is the first to be issued since Capitec was granted a licence by the South African Reserve Bank in 1999.

Financial Services Board: www.fsb.co.za Post Bank: www.postbank.co.za Public Investment Corporation: www.pic.gov.za

New banking licences have been granted.

In a province with a high proportion of rural citizens such as Mpumalanga, the prospect of Postbank being upgraded to a full-service bank is positive news. The current Postbank focusses on taking deposits and savings accounts. Postbank has secured a R3.7-billion loan to enable it to open its own loan book. The large geographical footprint of the Post Office will make the bank easily accessible to even remote parts of the country.

Banks are working hard to offer products to the previously u n b a n k e d . N e d b a n k h a s partnerships with shops such as Boxer Stores and Pick n Pay where customers can have access to financial services in previously unserviced areas.