Thursday morning breakfast was preceded by the stuffy, stilted presentation by Transnet at La-Colline in Theesecombe (See: Re-Transnet).
Thursday afternoon presented an intimate lunch date at Ginger Restaurant with CEO of FNB Cellphone Banking Solutions, Ravesh Ramlakan and a couple of his mates; Busi Mngomezulu, Sandile Madikiza and Franco Gresse.
They were there to leverage a meal and cement relationships in order to introduce us to Pay2Cell – a solution that allows FNB account holders to make payments to other FNB account holders using only the recipient’s cellphone number. The solution omits the need to remember long account details and also allows the recipient to keep their banking details private.
Only full FNB Cellphone Banking registered customers can make payments. FNB customers who are registered cellphone banking customers and who have inContact will be able to receive payments. Costs are based on the account holder’s fee structure, normal account fees apply. In Contact messages are only sent for transactions over R100.00
So, if you are giving the Car Guard a tip and you want him to see just how cool you are then I am afraid the tip will have to be over a Hundred Bucks.
Of course it must be way cooler to work for a public company in a relatively green industry like banking so the conversation information flowed. And no, it wasn’t because of the wine. How cool is that; “When last did you have a glass of wine at a business lunch?” I stuck with the orange juice, though.
It certainly seems to me that FNB have gone the correct route when it comes to cellphone banking by not relying on hordes of applications but rather establishing good relationships with the cellphone providers and having simple reliable methods of moving cash around.
According to Sandile the technology is available to ensure that any banking transactions are tied to a specific phone, sim card and originating number which would help negate potential concerns over fraud.
The meal at Ginger? Carpaccio and Sole – the carpaccio was fresh and decent, the sole a little oily for my liking, with just cooked potatoes.
The setting at Ginger is stunning and certainly helped the FNB people to relax and contemplate retiring to Port Elizabeth.
One of the benefits of working in the IT department of a large business is INSTANT Access to TOYS – Ravesh Ramlakan and Sandile Madikiza are well pleased with Pay2Cell.
