Bank joins Twitter - offering airtime and transaction statements

Absa on Thursday launched ChatBanking‚ the first service in the continent which allows you to conduct your day-to-day banking from your Twitter account‚ without interrupting your session on the social media website.

The new service was launched on Twitter today and will eventually be rolled out to other social media platforms.

Ashley Veasey‚ Group Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer at Barclays Africa‚ said a recent study by global research firm Nielsen showed that 61% of local users visit Twitter at least two to five times daily‚ with the average time spent on social media channels at around two hours and 43 minutes per day.

“To deliver a cool banking experience‚ we are bringing banking to where our customers spend their time. The service‚ another first from Absa‚ allows customers to bank conveniently and efficiently without having to leave Twitter‚” says Veasey.

Changes in customer behaviour require that banking has to be available anytime‚ anywhere‚ and accessible through multiple channels‚ the bank acknowledged. In addition‚ social media has transformed the traditional relationship between business and customers in the same way as it has changed how individuals interact with one another.

On ChatBanking the customer will be able to:

- Get the actual and available balance on your transactional account.

- Buy airtime or data for the cellphone registered to your account.

- Obtain a mini-statement showing the most recent transactions on your account.

Customers wanting to access the service can get the details on Absa’s official website.