News

Banks go hi-tech to reach rural areas

January 26, 2005

BusinessDay: The big South African banks are stepping up their efforts to infiltrate under-serviced areas by using satellite and cellular technologies to do business in rural regions.

Standard Bank has opted for an extraterrestrial system. It is buying 400 broadband satellite terminals from Telkom to run ATMs in remote areas. The first terminals, costing R2,000 (U.S. $336.98) each, have been installed at 22 service centers that target previously unbanked areas.

"The availability of satellite links meets our need to provide electronic services in areas where branches are not commercially sustainable and where land lines have proven unreliable," said Herman Singh, Standard Bank's director of technology engineering.

First National Bank has chosen cellular technology to reach rural areas. It already runs 1,200 mini ATMs in retail stores around South Africa, connected by transmitting data over Telkom's normal voice lines.